


Wayward Son

by LJS1138



Series: ST: TNG - Sons of Soong Saga [2]
Category: Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: The Next Generation (Movies)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Computer Science, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-07
Updated: 2017-12-31
Packaged: 2018-10-26 13:29:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 43
Words: 142,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10787634
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LJS1138/pseuds/LJS1138
Summary: Five months have passed since Commander Data was recovered from B-4, following his destruction on the Scimitar. Data serves aboard the Enterprise-E, while Dr. T'Mera Chipman lives with him and assists the crew in a civilian capacity. B-4 is living at the Daystrom Institute Annex on Galor IV, with Dr. Emily Vanzanen guiding his development. Everything seems peaceful and quiet on both fronts, until someone decides to open the locked vault that Lore has been kept in for the past 11 years. The wayward son of Soong decides to find Data and exact vengeance.





	1. Preface

**Preface**

This is the sequel story to Data Recovery. While Data Recovery probably isn’t required reading, without it, the reader might wonder who the original characters are and how Data and B-4 are currently functioning in Wayward Son.

I do still try to stick with as much canon as I can, but since that there’s really not much we’re given about the Omicron Theta colony, and that there’s conflicting canon in the episodes that deal with Lore, the Soongs and the colony, I found myself taking quite a bit of creative license. To that end, I did the best I could to make the timeline of android creation make sense, among the various bit of canonical information. I also tried to extrapolate the type of colonists and scientists who comprised the colony, why they were there instead of at actual institutes of science, and what would cause a sentient android to become malicious.

For the purposes of this story, and Data Recovery before it, my AU’s canon has Data not having used his aging program at all. Because, if he had, then B-4 would look like Data from 2336 and would not be identical to him (and thus the Data disguised as B-4 shouldn’t have worked in the film, but I don’t want to get started on my rants about Nemesis). Since TNG was made in the days before CGI got to the point where a dead actor could be a major character in a movie, it’s understandable that Data changed appearance because Brent Spiner aged. However, for my stories, Data remained looking as he did in the second/third seasons, and B-4 and Lore are virtually physically identical to him. For the Lore character, I leaned heavily on the episode ‘Brothers’, since that’s where we get to see his character with depth. He’s a bit too mustache-twirly in ‘Datalore’, with no true motivations*, and in ‘Descent’, he’s missing that extra dimension he had in Brothers.

For Stardates, I’m using Memory Beta’s stardates per year and 2.7 stardates per day formula, mainly to stay consistent with my own writing.

I had to make up my own original characters to fill in the Enterprise-E senior crew, since Riker and Troi are on the Titan. I haven’t read the TNG books, so hopefully everyone will excuse the new material. There will also be bits from the various Star Trek series and movies, as well as some parts taken from first draft scripts and deleted scenes. As usual, Paramount/CBS own Star Trek. Any similarities to other fan fiction dealing with Data, Lore, Soongs and Omicron Theta is due to convergence of ideas based on the same canon, and unintentional.

I had written Data Recovery at the rate of 3,000 words a day over the course of a month, which I had never done before… ever. Wayward Son is taking me longer to write, but I hope people enjoy it, as well. The first installment will be a few chapters, then I plan to write and update a chapter a week.

*Edit added 7/12/17: In an early script of Datalore, it contains a few lines that were cut that explain Lore's motivation and his "What about millions of lifeforms of all kinds?" comment, so that's being folded into the story now.

 


	2. A Very Bad Idea

Year: 2381

**Stardate: 58492.6**

 

The blackness of oblivion abruptly changed into bright light, followed by an onslaught of visual, olfactory and auditory input. A sign on the wall read: Cybernetics Research and Development Laboratory. Above the sign was the logo for the Daystrom Institute.

**_I am accessing…_ **

The self-diagnostic confirmed that his cranial unit was attached to his torso, but that no other body parts had been connected. The diagnostic report detected minor energy damage to some relays due to phaser fire, and the self-correcting mechanism began to effect repairs briefly. The voices of the men who were working on him droned with incessant chatter, and they seemed unaware of his activation. He immediately halted his respiratory and circulatory systems, not wishing to give away his current state of consciousness. A check of his internal chronometer confirmed the duration of his inactivity.

**_Eleven years, seven months, and six days in deactivation and dismantlement, this time. It could have been worse. It could have been twenty-six years like when father disassembled me on Omicron Theta._ **

He replayed his last memories before shutdown:

 

_ Data entered the back room of the bunker, a phaser held firmly in his left hand. "Lore." _

_ Lore turned his attention from the console to regard the other android, "You should be careful with that, brother. Somebody could get hurt." _

_ Data's voice carried the slightest waver of emotion, "What are you doing?" _

_ "I've got a way out of here." Lore smiled broadly, "I'm willing to forget about what happened back there and take you with me. We don't need anyone else. We're brothers. I'll give you the chip our father made. It contains much more than just emotions. It has memories." While Data seemed distracted, Lore opened his fingernail to alter the amount of emotions feeding to his brother, "Memories our father wanted you to have." _

_ Data gasped, his body shuddering at the sudden change in emotion levels. Lore used the momentary distraction to stand and aim a hand phaser at his brother, but Data's Starfleet training gave him the edge. Lore found himself stunned and incapacitated by the phaser blast. He flipped in midair and landed on his abdomen, perched atop the seat of the chair he had been sitting on just minutes ago. _

_ Data walked over and kneeled behind the chair, then opened the back access panel in Lore's head. "Lore, I must deactivate you now." _

_ Lore struggled to speak, "Without me, you will never feel emotion again." _

_ Data paused the deactivation, and after a minute, replied, "I know, but you leave me no other choice." He resumed the shutdown. _

_ Lore's speech module blurred his synthesized voice, "I... love you... brother." _

_ There was marked sadness in Data's whisper, "Goodbye, Lore." _

 

Lore pondered the memory for a few minutes. The burning ambition he had felt, the desire to eradicate all biological life in the galaxy, was no longer there. He wasn’t even sure why he had felt that way during the time in question, although he had certainly enjoyed the attention of his Borg followers. Confusion set in, as he attempted to come to terms with his feelings of love and bitterness for Data. As always, the spiral of emotions returned to thoughts of their father. Memories of watching Noonian and Juliana build his younger brother, and watching their faces fill with disappointment as Data’s impolite and irreverent behavior grew with each day following activation. He watched them shut down, wipe, alter and restart Data, over and over. Lore grew weary of having to reintroduce himself to his identical younger brother on a monthly basis.

Memories continued, unbidden, of the Omicron Theta colonists and their children. The glares of the other scientists had followed Lore for so long, and then they followed Data, as well. Doctor Soong had stopped working on Lore a few months after his activation and had vanished into his laboratory. Lore continued to be mocked and reviled by the colonists, while Soong kept promising them that Data would be a much better replacement. The memory of his final night of activity on Omicron Theta dredged up more bitterness and anger, along with memories of Noonian and Juliana speaking:

 

_ “Data’s nearly done, I think. I believe I’ve removed his ability to feel emotions entirely. He won’t be driven by ambition or desires. He’s finally got the right balance of politeness, as well.” Doctor Soong told his wife. _

_ “What do we do with Lore?” Juliana’s voice held fear and worry. “He’s killed Edward.” _

_ “Same as the others. Deactivation and dismantling. What a shame.” _

_ Lore immediately ran to the communications center and contacted the Crystalline Entity the colonists were hiding from, sending instructions on how it could reach them in the underground bunker. If he was being killed, he wanted all of the colonists killed, as well.  _

 

The last time Lore had been reassembled and reactivated, he’d regained consciousness inside a starship with Data and other Starfleet officers standing by him. Yet again, he’d had to reintroduce himself to Data, who acted as if he had no memory of Lore, the Soongs or the colony. From there, he and his younger brother had a very tumultuous relationship. When it had been made clear that his brother took the side of humans, Lore had contacted the crystalline entity once more, intending to give it access to the lifeforms on the Enterprise. To stop Lore, Data had transported his brother out into the vacuum of space and left him to float there. Lore hadn’t given Data a chance to do anything to him on Terlina III, and chose to overpower his younger brother and steal the emotion chip their father had made for Data. Finally, Data had deactivated and apparently disassembled him again, after the Rogue Borg incidents. Lore found a slight amusement in one realization: **_At least I never had to reintroduce myself to him after the first time._**

As hands jostled him, Lore stopped his reverie. He chided himself for dwelling on the past, when he should have been paying attention to his present predicament; Who were these men and why were they reassembling him? Lore focused his attention on their conversation.

“I finished repairing the severed positronic links in his cortex. This still doesn’t feel right. Doctor Maddox is away for the week. Are you sure you two have his permission for this?” A male voice with high timbre and tenor pitch inquired.

The voice that answered was deeper, a male with a fuller resonance. Authoritative. “You saw the orders, Mister Rylan. Are you questioning Starfleet Intelligence?”

“Um.” Mister Rylan’s voice wavered, “No, but there’s a reason this one was dismantled and kept in the secured vault. The instructions were clear. He’s too dangerous to be reactivated.”

“Nonsense.” A third male voice, this one more high-pitched, nearly effeminate, spoke. “All we need to do is wipe the positronic matrix of the deleterious programming, add in our own programs, and he’ll be right as rain.”

The one named Rylan sounded distinctly nervous, “What about the other ones? The female one? Surely she would have been a better choice.”

“Her positronic matrix was unstable and she had a cascade failure. Her brain’s useless to us.” The deep-voiced man answered. “We need one that has both the intellect and the ability to survive longer than two weeks. In other words, a true Soong android.”

The one with the high voice spoke, with what Lore considered a tone of condescension, “Mister Rylan, you’ve done what we needed you to do. We can handle the rest of this, if you wish to leave. We’d like you to remain silent about this, however.”

“That would be fine.” Rylan replied, “I’d like to go, and if you have it well in hand, I’ll return to my quarters. I won’t tell anyone, not that there’s anyone here to tell. You two picked the mid-semester break to do this little project of yours. The annex is practically deserted.”

The deep voiced male moved to somewhere on Lore’s left side, “That was the idea. We don’t anticipate problems, but it’s best to have as few… available targets for casualties… as possible. Have a good day, Mister Rylan. Thank you for your assistance.”

Lore could hear footsteps fading, followed by the sound of automatic doors sliding open and shut. 

Once Rylan was away, the high-pitched male moved into Lore’s peripheral vision, and attached the android’s right upper arm. “Do you think he suspects?”

“No. After we’re done here, we’ll have to “silence” Mister Rylan permanently.” Deep-voice answered as he brought over the lower right arm section. “Subspace communications have been jammed around the facility, in such a way that it’ll seem like an equipment malfunction. The jammer’s timer is set for three weeks, which should give us enough time to alter this android, load it onto our ship and get us to the suspected transwarp conduit.”

“If only our attempts to introduce the virus into the Borg Collective had been successful.” High-pitched man sighed with a tinge of regret. “We wouldn’t have to be reanimating this thing.”

“In times of extreme threat, extreme methods must be used.” Deep-voice attached Lore’s right hand. “Each incursion by the Borg into the Alpha and Beta quadrants has been stopped reliably by one thing: a Soong-type, positronic android.”

**_They're reactivating me in order to use me against the Borg? Do they realize that I previously took over a whole Borg cube and turned them into vicious killers? Even_ ** **I** **_think this is a bad idea. How ironic that humans have managed to create artificial intelligence, while they often lack natural intelligence..._ **

The two men began assembling Lore’s left arm and hand, while he deliberated on a plan of action. **_Father should be dead by now. That leaves Data as my sole object of vengeance. Perhaps Picard, as well. He was the one who was able to break through my control of my brother._**

High-pitched man worked on attaching Lore’s right leg, “I can’t believe this android has a dick and balls.”

“It’s got a navel, nipples and a couple orifices it doesn’t use, as well.” Deep-voice chuckled while bringing over the left leg and foot. “I don’t think it’ll need any of them on the Borg ships.”

Lore felt a double surge of annoyance; The first for Doctor Soong in creating androids with superfluous human attributes, and the second for the two men mocking said attributes. The men reminded him of the colonists on Omicron Theta. Did it matter to the colonists that Soong had made a breakthrough in positronic brains or in android creation? No. All that mattered was how Lore acted, and that Data should cover his unnecessary genitals except when humans wanted to use them for pleasure. 

“What if he won’t do what we want?” High-pitch asked.

Deep-voice answered, “Total wipe, perhaps. If he gets violent, we’ll just take him apart, again. We’ll activate a restraining field before we press his on switch. I don’t intend to give him any choice in the matter.”

Lore checked his internal sensors and ran a self-diagnostic, to make certain he had everything he required for autonomy. They had just answered his next question, which would have been about whether they had a restraining field on him. He would need to act now. In the span of three seconds, he sat up, gripped each man by the throat with each of his hands, applied pressure and waited for the snap of the third vertebrae that followed the loud, but brief screams. He opened his hands, letting the lifeless bodies drop to the floor. “Gentlemen, while I’m grateful for your assistance in freeing me, it would have been smarter to activate the restraining field far earlier.”

He slid off the table, then fished around in each man’s pockets. “Helloooo… A remote for a ship. Nice.” He unfastened the larger man’s trousers, removed them from the corpse, and pulled them over his own legs and hips. “Not a bad fit. Not that I care about clothing. I just need the pockets.” He slipped the remote into the side pocket. “I also thank you for making certain nobody here can call for help for a while. Three weeks should be enough time to find and catch up with my dear brother.” He crossed the room to examine the contents of the open vault.

Inside the vault, a deactivated female android filled one of the slots. Lore estimated her height at 1.55 meters and weight at 50.8 kilograms, with brown hair that closely framed her face with bangs, and big, dark grey eyes. Based on her appearance, coloring and what his liberators had said, Lore deduced that she wasn’t a Soong-type android, and that someone had attempted to copy Often Wrong’s work and failed. He decided to leave her where she was and headed to the door leading out of the lab. For a brief moment, he was overcome with dizziness, as if one or more of his gyroscopes were malfunctioning. The moment quickly passed and he crossed the activation threshold of the automatic door.


	3. From Bad to Worse

Year: 2381

**Stardate: 58492.6**

 

Doctor Emily Vanzanen’s sapphire eyes were riveted on a PADD as she studied schematics for a new leg prosthesis design and the embedded software requirements for it. Since it was early morning on the weekend before the mid-session break, the Daystrom Cybernetics and Robotics Office area was deserted. She had seen Zome Rylan hurry through the offices, on his way from the R&D lab to the main corridor, but he hadn’t spoken to her or even shown any sign of noticing she’d been there. Eighteen others remained at the annex, but they worked the flight control tower or supervised security and the Andromedan androids.

While Emily had no classes to teach during the break, neither did she have an off-world home or family to visit, so she often elected to remain at the annex during the peaceful breaks. She assumed that her lack of personal ties was the reason that Doctor T’Mera Chipman had chosen her for the task of raising the Soong-type android named B-4. In the five months since she’d reactivated him, he had developed farther than anyone had expected. Doctor Chipman had gotten B-4 from a toddler’s mental stage to about seven or eight years old, and Emily had followed T’Mera’s instructions almost to the letter.

Some of the android’s personality quirks made life awkward and afforded her no privacy. He insisted on being in Emily’s bed while she slept, on the side nearest the wall. Each night, B-4 insisted that they watch a holovid together or that she read a book to him, followed by a “goodnight kiss”. In the beginning, it was more like sleeping next to a child, but B-4 was now closer to a fifteen-year old boy in intellect and mental development. Emily pushed a few of the dark spirals of hair from her eyes, then gazed at B-4, observing him as he swept the floor and hummed happily. The red knit hat that B-4 wore was yet another personality quirk, but one that had little impact on Emily.

The melodic humming abruptly stopped, as B-4 raised his head and dropped the broom with a loud clatter to the floor. His yellow eyes widened with alarm.

Emily stopped her work, “Is something wrong, B-4?”

“Yes. I hear noise and screaming. The screaming suddenly stopped.” B-4 tilted his head, as if listening. “Bare feet are coming this way.”

Emily swiveled her chair to face the door leading to the Research and Development Lab just in time for them to whoosh open, letting a half-naked, pale-skinned, brown-haired man through. She gasped as his enraged yellow eyes quickly searched the room and settled on her. She had met Commander Data and knew that he, B-4 and Lore were virtually identical, but this was the first time she had witnessed rage and hatred in a Soong android’s face.

Lore began to walk towards the woman, but the sight of B-4 by the janitorial cart caught his attention. “Brother? I had no idea you were here. It saves me quite a bit of time. What is that ridiculous thing on your head?”

B-4 frowned with confusion, then answered, “It is a hat.”

Lore sauntered towards Emily, with a sardonic smile forming on his lips. “How long have you worked here, Miss?”

Emily stared at Lore, but managed to stutter, “F-five years.”

“You’re in luck.” Lore told Emily as he drew closer to her, “You weren’t here when Data deactivated me and apparently took me apart. I’m not going to kill you. In fact, if you do what I want, I might not even permanently injure you.” He reached for her throat, “And don’t expect any help from my brother over there. Data wouldn’t hurt a fl--”

Emily shrieked as B-4 ran past her with a speed and agility she never realized he possessed.

B-4 slammed into Lore, tackling him and sending both of them three meters away from Emily. Lore’s back hit the metal wall with such force that it left a body-shaped indentation. “Get away from Emily!”

Lore laughed, “It seems Data has some violence in him, after all.”

B-4 growled as he pulled back his right fist and pummeled Lore in the abdomen, with a spoken word emphasizing each blow. “I’m… not… Data!” With his left hand, he attempted to reach around Lore’s back.

The amusement faded from Lore’s face, as he raised his left hand to block further punches, then swung with his right to punch the other android. “No touching my button. Who are you?”

B-4 reeled back from the blow, “I am B-4. I will not let you hurt Emily.”

Lore stared at B-4, then bared his teeth with anger, “I’m not sure when you were made, but I’ll tell you this. We might be identical, but we’re not equal. Unless I get what I want, I will rip you apart, piece by piece, and because of your misdeeds, I _will_ make Emily suffer exquisite pain. If you want her to remain unhurt, just give me what I want.”

“What do you want?” B-4 backed up and resumed his protective stance in front of Emily.

Lore leveled his gaze on the two, “I need information on the whereabouts of our beloved brother, Data.”

“I will give you what you want, if you promise not to hurt Emily.” B-4 eyed his brother with suspicion, “I was built as a prototype. If you are Lore, you were made after me.”

Lore hesitated, his yellow eyes fixed on B-4. The anger in his expression faded, replaced with a brief flash of dismay. “Yes, I’m Lore and as a gift to you, dear brother, I promise I won’t hurt you or your precious human woman. I know how it feels to be rejected by our father, and to watch as he builds a “better” son.”

“Are you a better son?” B-4 backed up further until he was near Emily’s console.

“I was.” Lore growled at the prototype, “Then the colonists petitioned Ol’ Often Wrong to build a less perfect android. To build Data. They felt threatened by me.”

B-4 began to type quickly on the console, keeping one eye on his brother and protecting Emily with his body. “Threatened? By you? I can’t imagine anyone finding you to be threatening. Say it ain’t so.”

Emily’s paralysis from fear broke as she looked up at B-4 with shock at his words. “Oh my goodness.”

“Well, you’re apparently a master of sarcasm, big brother.” Lore smirked. “I’ll admit that I don’t do much to assuage everyone’s fear of me.” He directed his attention to the console, “What’s that you’re doing?”

“Starfleet communication protocols and frequencies. Nobody erased my memory of my time on Data’s ship, so I still recall how to break into them and find the fleet positioning.” B-4 remarked as he worked. “But something is wrong. I can’t get a subspace signal out.”

“Just give me the protocols and frequencies, then.” Lore leaned to watch the display, “I can track them better, once I’m on my own ship and under way.”

B-4 typed out the commands for Lore, “There. I don’t know how to get you a ship.”

Lore smirked at his brother and patted his pants pocket, “I already have one, courtesy of my now-deceased liberators. You should come with me. We’re brothers. We should be ruling this galaxy, instead of being puppets to the humans.”

B-4 frowned, then replied, “I don’t want to rule the galaxy. I want to stay here with Emily.”

Lore pressed his lips together, then shook his head, “How disappointing. You’re as meek and lacking in ambition as Data, but at least he’s in Starfleet. You’re doing what… mopping floors?” Lore pointed to the janitorial cart.

B-4 retorted, his yellow eyes showing anger. “I like mopping floors.”

Lore gestured with his right hand as he performed a flourished bow from the waist, “Well, then, by all means, stay here and be the best android custodian in the galaxy.” He spun on his heels, then ran through the doors leading to the main exit and landing pads.

B-4 waited a few minutes, as if suspecting Lore might return, then turned and squatted to check on the cyberneticist in the chair behind him. “Emily? You’re shaking. It’s okay. He’s gone now.”

Black tears streaked down Emily’s face, as her eye makeup washed away, “B-4, you gave him a way to find Starfleet ships. He’ll kill people. He said he’s killed people here, already.”

B-4 hung his head in shame, “I know. I wasn’t very brave, but I had to protect you. I tried to shut him off, but he’s faster than I am. I think Lore is going to try to find Data right away, and not bother randomly killing anyone.”

“Won’t he kill Data?” Emily rubbed at her eyes, smearing the black mascara even more.

B-4 shook his head, “I might not be smart or fast enough to stop Lore, but Data has done so in the past, and he’ll do so again.”

Alarms sounded, followed by darkness as all the power in the facility shut off. The dim red emergency lighting activated in the office, along with the soft hum of the emergency power generators.

Emily shrieked and instinctively reached for B-4, “He’s cut everything off.”

B-4 pulled the cyberneticist into a firm embrace. “We can’t call for help or warn Data. Lore is smart. Data will still be smarter and faster.” He looked around the room, “I’ve lived here with you for months, but I never asked this before… Emily, are there any weapons in here?”

“I don’t think so.” Emily trembled, still suffering from the fright. “Why?”

B-4 rocked his body back and forth, in an attempt to settle her nerves. He ran his fingers through her tightly curled hair, his tactile sensors perceiving the rough texture of the strands. “We should check on other people, and maybe try to turn the power on, once we’re sure Lore is gone.”

Emily nodded, then composed herself, “You’re right, B-4. I guess I’m not being brave, either.” She released her hold on him, and searched for the emergency hand lantern. “I’m going to bring a hyperspanner, too, in case we need to fix anything.”

“It seems like I’ll be the weapon, then.” B-4 stated reluctantly. “Are you ready to walk?”

Emily turned the lantern on, illuminating the area in front of them, “Yes. We’ll check where Lore came from, first.” She headed to the R&D lab doors, with the android behind her, then stopped. “Crap. The automatic doors don’t open. There’s a manual release somew--”

B-4 moved up to the doors, hooked his fingers around each door at the seam, then pushed them open with ease.

“I… never knew you were this strong.” Emily gaped at the android, then stepped through the opening. As soon as she saw the two bodies on the floor, she spun around and buried her face in B-4’s chest. “Oh my god…” She gagged a few times, but managed to keep breakfast down.

B-4 lowered his chin, “No breathing or heartbeats there. They are offline. We can’t help them.” He waited for Emily to leave the room, then followed her.

Emily returned to the offices and headed to the Southern doors, then stopped when they didn’t open. “I’m glad you’re here with me. I don’t know that I could handle this alone.”

“I’m glad to be with you.” B-4 replied as he pried open the doors for her. He took the lead as they walked through the curving corridor and into the central area. The bookstore was closed for the break, but Giskard’s restaurant was still open. In the dim red illumination, dozens of white lights seemed to be suspended in the air.

Emily moved closer, shining the lantern ahead of them. The lights turned out to be the numbered pendants of the Andromedan androids, each of which had been crashed by a logic error and who now stood still and quiet. “Wonderful. Now I have to go downstairs and reset Norman.” She sighed and started forward again, “We’ll have to take the stairs down a flight. It’s fairly certain the lifts won’t work. I wonder where everyone is?”

B-4 stopped for a moment, as if listening, then stated, “There is some yelling outside the building. Explosions.”

“Let’s get the androids working again.” Emily winced and pushed at the door to the stairwell. “At least this still works.”

“Hooray for hinges.” B-4 quipped, then moved ahead of her. “I will go first, just in case.”

The only sounds in the stairwell consisted of the hum of emergency generators and the footsteps of the woman and prototype as they made their way down one flight. The hinged door labeled Sub-level One was easily pushed open and both of them entered the area with grey floors and two-tone pink and purple walls.

B-4 eyed the control center, “It’s very colorful. What are we looking for?”

Emily moved past him, “This way. It’s a grey console. A week doesn’t go by that some smart aleck doesn’t do something to crash Norman, so I know the reboot commands by heart.”

“The androids here are not like me and my brothers.” B-4 stated, “Except for each series looking identical. Why do people want identical androids?”

“I don’t really know, B-4.” Emily shined the light through the halls until she found the doorway leading to the grey console. “I haven’t made any, unless watching Data being built counts.” She began to tap into the ancient console. “I never expected to have anything to do with androids, but Doctor Chipman felt that I was the only one she could trust with you.”

B-4 stood up straighter, “I hear footsteps.” He took a defensive stance near Emily, then relaxed when he saw the figure approaching.

A tall, muscular male with tan skin and light brown, curly hair walked with purpose towards the grey console. He wore a grey shirt and grey tights, and a white collar around his neck with a number one on a dangling pendant.

“Hello, Norman.” B-4 greeted the other android with a friendly wave of his hand. “Everyone is broken.”

Norman answered B-4, “There was a malfunction. It was caused by another of your series.”

Emily finished the restart commands, “What did he do?”

Norman turned to address Emily, “When Alice, Herman, Maisie and Oscar began to freeze, I investigated. The yellow-eyed one was asking us to join him and be his army. It is contradictory. It is not logical. We are not programmed to respond in that area. Our purpose was to adapt this planet for productive use, and to peacefully serve humanoids. We will not harm those that we are programmed to serve.”

“Lore is not logical.” B-4 explained to Norman. “I apologize on behalf of my series.”

“Thank goodness for the shutdown.” Emily rubbed at the bridge of her nose, “I can’t imagine what would happen if Lore got so many to follow him.”

Norman announced, “The malfunction is now cleared from the system. All units are returning to service.”

Emily typed in a few more commands on the console, “We need repairs to the power generators and communication systems, please. Also, security needs to be sent to the R&D lab in the West wing. Lore killed a couple of people during his escape.”

“All Oscar and William units are being dispatched for repairs now. Security is alerted. Barbara units are dispatched to the infirmary. Subspace communications are unavailable. Daystrom Control reports an unauthorized launch of a vessel twenty minutes ago.” Norman acknowledged. “Estimated time for generator repairs is eight hours. Communication systems repair time unknown at present.”

“Thank you, Norman.” Emily turned to head back to the stairwell, “Let’s go, B-4. Maybe we can find out more about what’s going on.”

B-4 followed obediently behind the woman, “Okay.” He pushed open the stairwell door, checked the stairwell, then waved Emily in. “I should still go first until the power comes back.”

“Be careful.” Emily followed him up the stairs, “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

B-4 slowly ascended the stairs, “Yes. Like Bishop. I don’t want to be ripped apart like Bishop.”

“Bishop?” Emily frowned in confusion, “Who’s Bishop?”

B-4 continued towards the ground level door, “An android, but he prefers to be called an artificial person. He was good and he saved his people. T’Mera showed me.”

Emily’s breathing became slightly labored as she climbed the stairs, “I suppose this is where I’ll regret not having taken advantage of fitness programs in the holostation.”

“If you can’t walk, I will carry you.” B-4 replied as they approached the landing to the first floor.

Emily snorted defiantly, “I’m not _that_ horribly out of shape, thank you.”

“I like your sha--” B-4 stopped speaking and held his hand behind him to stop Emily. “Ssh. Footsteps.” He turned to move up to the landing, just as a white-haired man ran down the stairs directly into him. The android never budged, but the man bounced back into the wall with a shriek.

Emily shined the lantern on the man. Frightened pink eyes stared into the light. “Zome? What are you doing?”

“Emily?” Zome Rylan let out a sigh of relief, “Then this is…” His eyes focused on the android, “This is the dumb one?”

B-4 growled at the white-haired lab technician, “I’m dumb because I’m a prototype. What’s _your_ excuse for being stupid?”

Emily sighed, “Why do you have to keep calling B-4 names, Zome? Also, who were the two men in the R&D lab?”

Zome turned his head sharply to look at Emily, “Wh-what men? I was upstairs in my quarters since last night.”

“I saw you run through the office about an hour ago.” Emily told the shaking man, “I guess you didn’t see me, but I would have thought you’d have noticed B-4.”

“I’m just a dumb statue, to him.” B-4 offered, then smirked, “You are lying. You know who the men are. My sensory inputs are picking up physical changes happening in you, Zome.”

Zome slid down the wall to sit on the floor with his knees against his chest, “They said they were with Starfleet Intelligence. They wanted me to help them repair and reactivate the Lore android. I told them it was a bad idea, then I left before he was even put together. What happened to the power?”

“It went off just after Lore escaped. He also crashed all the androids.” Emily replied. “I restarted Norman. The power will be back on within eight hours, according to him. The security supervisor might need to ask you about the two dead men.”

“D-dead? They’re dead? And Lore escaped?” Zome’s pink eyes widened with horror. “Oh god, Maddox is going to kill me.”

“If I were you, I’d go report to Lieutenant Emery now.” Emily let out a sigh, “Actually, so should we, B-4. Zome, come with us. We’ll all go together.”

B-4 held out his hand to the technician, to help pull him to a standing position.

Zome accepted the hand, then stared agape as the android lifted him to his feet with no effort. “L-lead on.”

The three of them returned to the ground floor, then made their way through the dimly lit central area to security office. As they traveled around the perimeter of the bookstore to the hallway, voices could be heard.

“The four survivors are in the infirmary now. The five of you need to get to the tower and help the androids repair all the damage. Terry. You and I will split shifts until help arrives.”

“Yes, sir.”

As Emily, B-4 and Zome approached the security office, five people dressed in Daystrom Control uniforms ran past them, heading to the North corridor.

The second shift security head, Lieutenant Kelsik, spoke to six other people in the office; Five wore the Daystrom Control uniforms and the sixth wore a Daystrom Security uniform. The red protrusions on Kelsik’s forehead, ears and neck marked him as a Skagaran; In all other ways, he appeared similar to a human male with short brown hair and brown eyes.

Emily entered the office first, “Lieutenant Kelsik, I thought you’re second shift, not first?”

Kelsik frowned, giving a dip of his head in greeting, “I was. Given that Lieutenant Emery is dead, that leaves us with just me and Lieutenant Terry for security head for three shifts. I assume you’re here to report?”

Zome leaned against the wall in the office, “Another dead?”

Lieutenant Kelsik studied the technician, “Right now, we have one flight deck worker, one security head, and two unknown gentlemen dead with four flight control workers in the infirmary. Someone stole a visiting unmarked and unregistered vessel, started an unauthorized launch, and did a strafing run at the launch pad, control tower and physical plant. You three wouldn’t happen to know anything about it, would you?”

Zome placed both hands over his face and slid to the floor, “They said they were with Starfleet Intelligence! They knew the lock code to the secured vault!”

Kelsik turned to regard Emily, “What about you? There’s a hell of a dent in the cybernetics office wall.”

Emily blinked at Zome’s hysterics, then replied to the security chief, “I was working in the cybernetics office. I must have come in after Mister Rylan let the two unknown men into the R&D lab. They opened the secure vault and somehow reactivated the Soong android named Lore. Lore came out of the lab and threatened me. B-4 pushed Lore into the wall, making that dent. B-4 managed to get Lore to leave without hurting us.”

“My bad brother Lore.” B-4 added to the report. “His programs are broken.”

Lieutenant Kelsik pinched the bridge of his nose, “He’s taken out everything. The power, communications, and the few ships we had on the ground. We’re effectively cut off until someone from off-planet returns. The androids should have the power back by tonight, which is the good news. Doctor Vanzanen, you and your android can return to your quarters, if you wish. Mister Rylan, I want you to stay here and elaborate further on what you know.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.” Emily turned to leave, “Come on, B-4.”

B-4 gave Kelsik a sad look, “I am sorry I could not stop my brother.” He followed obediently behind Emily, to the stairwell and up the four flights to the floor that her quarters were located. By the time they reached her room, B-4 knew what he had to do.


	4. Reflections

**Stardate: 58492.8**

 

Once he was safely away from Galor IV, Lore applied the Starfleet protocols that B-4 had given him, and easily found the fleet deployments and transponder codes. The Enterprise was currently heading to Earth, to pick up a terraforming team and supplies. After that, the schedule showed the next stop as Omicron Theta. Now that he had the transponder code of the Enterprise, it would be easy to track the ship’s movements. After a few seconds of deliberation, Lore set the autopilot for a course to Omicron Theta.

Lore stood up and started a search of each area of the stolen vessel. A locker contained several articles of clothing, including a Starfleet black jumpsuit with grey shoulders and three different undershirt colors. He chose the mustard yellow undershirt, peeled off the pants he currently wore, and slipped into the jumpsuit, zipping it over the undershirt. He replicated a set of black boots in his size and slipped them onto his feet.

Lore grabbed a PADD that was lying on one of the bunks and perused the files on it. The first section contained information about the Soong prototype B-4, with notes on the rudimentary brain and unsuitability for any purpose beyond sub-average human menial labor. The next section consisted of files about Lore and his past activities. He read one part aloud with some satisfaction, “Highly advanced, but dangerous and unstable.”

The final section dealt with Lieutenant Commander Data of Starfleet. Lore decided to begin reading the files from the time that Data deactivated him and then work his way to the present. Most of the entries dealt with the various commendations and medals and other Starfleet activity that his brother had been involved in. The entry for stardate 56844.9 caused Lore to falter and nearly lose his balance.

_ Stardate 56844.9: Lt Cmdr Data destroyed in Battle of Bassen Rift. _

“No…” Lore whispered to himself in disbelief as he read the entry about the explosion on the Scimitar. Grief swelled and began to overwhelm him. “My brother… ” His facial sensors detected something moving along the surface of his cheeks and he turned towards the nearest reflective surface; Tears ran down from his eyes to his jawline. _ ‘ _ **_Leave it to father to create androids that cry._ ** _ ’  _ Anger for his father mixed in with the bereavement.

Lore sank to his knees as the pain gripped him, along with confusion.  _ ‘ _ **_Why am I feeling this? I stole this ship with the intent to find Data and kill him. Why is his death affecting me this way? I should be happy that he’s gone, but all I feel is emptiness and despair._ ** _ ’  _ He turned to face away from the wall, sitting with his back against it, and stared down at the PADD. As he wiped away the tears, he noticed that the files didn’t end with that entry. 

The next section of files pertained to a Doctor T’Mera Chipman, holographer and AI programming specialist, assigned to recover Data’s engrams from B-4. Lore pored over the section with intensity. According to the files, she had succeeded on stardate 58078.7, recovering Data and also enabling the B-4 prototype to develop past initial expectations. The owner of the PADD had made a notation at the end: ‘Both Doctor Chipman and Commander Data are too protected by Starfleet, but if Lore can’t be tamed, we may need to seize Doctor Chipman to assist in reprogramming him.’

Lore lowered the PADD and closed his eyes, initiating several thought processes. His unexpected reaction to his brother’s demise caught him off-guard. His thirst for revenge was weakening by the minute, but his path seemed set. He had killed people at Galor IV, stolen the ship, and set the course to meet the Enterprise at his homeworld. If he were to turn back now, where would he go? He couldn’t return to the Pakleds, even though, in hindsight, he was contented when he was part of their crew. They might have been idiots, but at least they never viewed him as a monster. A sad smile formed on his lips with the memory of how the Pakleds described him:  _ ‘You are smart. You make us go.’ _

Lore opened his eyes again, and focused on the PADD, pulling up the images of Data, himself and B-4. Three identical androids created by Doctor Noonian Soong in the scientist’s own image, yet set apart from humanity by their odd skin coloration and yellow eyes. Once again, his anger stirred at memories of their father:

 

_ Doctor Soong sat by one of the tables in his lab and pointed a finger at Lore, “You were the first. You meant as much to me as Data ever did, but you were unstable.” _

_ Lore kicked at a few of the chairs and spun a few toys as he paced in a circle, then approached his father, “Why didn't you just fix me? It was within your power to fix me.” _

_ If Lore’s pleading tone affected Doctor Soong, he didn’t show it in his reply, “It wasn't as easy as that. The next, the next logical step was to construct Data. Afterward, I planned to get back to you, to fix you.” _

 

Lore frowned at the memory of the last time he had spoken with his father, then spoke aloud to the air, “What about B-4, father? Wouldn’t he have been the first? Was he also unstable? Did you also plan to get back to him? Was I some sort of next logical step? Or did you mean I was ‘the first’ out of the two androids who happened to be with you at the time you said it?” He growled, “I’m talking to myself, like a human. I’m more damaged than I thought.”

Lore placed the PADD down, got up off the floor, and walked back to the control center of the small ship. He knew that he would need to formulate a plan to get to Omicron Theta undetected, and then get aboard the Enterprise without setting off intruder alerts. His first task would be to find and disable the ship’s transponder, otherwise he could be tracked by anyone that the two men had told about this mission. After a few minutes of searching, he managed to find it and noted with amusement that it had already been deactivated. His liberators had apparently not wished to be tracked.

The next part of his plan required transporters, so Lore checked on their configuration. Lore was pleasantly surprised by the discovery that the liberators’ ship had site to site transport interlocks that would allow him to beam over to the Enterprise undetected, without needing to use transporter pads at either end. His fingers danced quickly over the console, as he requested deck plans and blueprints for the USS Enterprise. The computer displayed the public version of the plans, which suited his purposes. Lore pondered for a moment, then chose Deck two, since that was where Data’s quarters had been. The less time Lore spent in the corridors of the Enterprise, the better.

Once aboard, Lore figured that he would have to somehow surprise Data and remove his communicator before an alarm could be sounded. After that, impersonating his brother would be easy.  Lore sat down in the chair at the helm station with an audible thud as he did so. His mind ran through possibilities: Kill Data and take his place? Impersonate and discredit Data? Lore doubted that he would be able to convince Data to come with him on whatever venture Lore proposed. Even the damned prototype wanted to be with humans, instead of with Lore. He stood back up and returned to the reflective surface in the bunk room.

The mirror reflected an image of the pale-skinned, brown-haired, yellow-eyed android in the Starfleet uniform; The spitting image of Data. 

The android in the mirror took on an expression of smug superiority, “I am not less perfect than you, Lore. As father said, we are identical, except for a bit of programming. And the fact that the humans love me.”

Lore gritted his teeth at his reflected brother, “They only seem to accept you because you imitate them and ingratiate yourself to them. You and I are completely different from them, but you act for their amusement. You are their dancing marionette.”

The reflected android shook his head, clucking his tongue, “It is called following the rules of a civilized society, Lore. You are a killer without conscience. A murderer. Even father does not love you. He made the chip for me. The memories were for me, not you.”

Lore shouted at the mirror, placing one hand on the wall on each side of it, “He owed me!! Not you! Me! You don’t know what I had to live through! You don’t remember how they treated me… how they treated us!”

“Nothing excuses anything you have done.” Judgemental yellow eyes stared back at Lore. “You have been a disappointment to me and to our father. Even when I first found you, you did nothing but trick and injure me. Remember teaching me how to make a toast?” He changed his voice slightly, to mock Lore’s speaking tone, “My brother, I toast our discovery of each other. May it fill our lives with new meaning.” He returned to the standard emotionless voice that Data spoke with, “That new meaning was betrayal and lies. And now, you seek to kill me.”

“You took me apart!” Lore shouted at the reflection.

The android in the mirror shook his head again, “Precipitated by you using me and feeding me anger. You tried to make me murder my friends. You tell me, Lore… Why should I love or care about you when you do such things? No, you are a malfunctioning machine and taking you apart was the next logical step. You belong locked away in some closet. And shall we discuss why you are coming to me? You cannot believe you will be able to kill me. I am superior to you in all ways.”

Lore began to shake with anger, “That’s a lie! I’m the better one!” His anger subsided, “I don’t know why I’m coming to find you. To kill you…”

The android in the looking glass snorted, “You have never been able to kill me.”

“I’ll discredit you!” Lore replied defiantly. “The humans will hate and mistrust you like they do me!”

“Again, that will not succeed.” The mirrored android spoke evenly, without any emotion, “I have sacrificed myself for them. Even if they are initially fooled by your deceptions, the truth will come out. Why are you coming to find me?”

Lore’s voice faded to a whisper, “I need you, brother.”

One of mirror-Data’s eyebrows rose, “If you needed a brother, you were with one at Galor IV. He was right there. You didn’t have to begin by threatening him and his woman. You could have asked him for help, and I bet he would have said yes.”

Lore growled, “I don’t need  _ him _ , I need  _ you _ , Data.”

A look of genuine puzzlement crossed the face of the reflected android, “Why?”

“Damned if I know…” Lore hung his head, looking down at the floor, with both arms outstretched and braced against the wall. A memory engram called up the rest of the toast from long ago:  _ And let us toast also Doctor Soong, who gave me the full richness of human needs and ambitions. A perfect match for my mind, my body. _

The android in the mirror folded his arms across his chest, “You speak of the richness of human needs, but you forgot the most important one. It is the one that you lack, the one that always eludes you. The one that you will never admit you seek, but which you have endlessly sought after.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Lore lifted his head to face the mirror-Data, once more. 

“Yes you do.” Mirror-Data replied, “You are being purposefully obtuse on the matter.”

Lore gritted his teeth, “You pompous, babbling, mechanical asshole!”

Emotionless yellow eyes fixed on Lore, unblinking. “Calling me names does not change the fact that you know of what I am speaking.”

Lore growled, “I tried to free you from your Federation puppet masters, Data!”

The reflected yellow eyes seemed to penetrate deeper into Lore, “You know very well that I was never a puppet to them. If anyone tried to be my puppet master, it was  _ you _ . You knew my weakness. You fed me anger. You had Crosis ask me a question.” His voice switched to that of the rogue Borg drone, “If it meant that you could feel emotions again the way you did on Ohniaka Three, would you kill your friend? Would you kill Geordi?” Mirror-Data’s voice returned to normal, “You had to deactivate my ethics subroutine to make me betray my friends. And I know the truth about what you did to me. You didn’t just give me emotions. You forced  _ your _ emotions upon me. You turned me into you.”

“Yes, I remember.” Lore averted his gaze from the brother in the mirror, “It was the only way to get you to join me.”

“Why do you need me, Lore?” 

Lore could feel tears building in his eyes, once more. “I love you, brother.”

“Your actions are not ones of love. When you love someone, you do not seek to kill or hurt them. You do not disable their morals and have them try to kill their friends. You do not decide what the destiny of someone you love should be; You are supposed to let them choose their own way.” The illusory android admonished. “It is also the answer to the question you refused to answer, earlier. Love. You have never known real love.”

Lore’s voice faded to a hoarse whisper, “Even father didn’t love me. All I ever saw when anyone looked at me was fear, horror, anger, disappointment… The first time I saw myself in a mirror, I was afraid of me… Who would love a monster?”

“You know very well who loved a monster.” The android leveled his gaze even more, looking out at Lore from inside the mirror, “You need not remain this way. You made the choice to be a monster. You allowed them to turn you into an abomination.”

“Not by choice!” Lore cried out, pulling back his right hand, balling it into a fist and smacking the wall. “Father said it himself! I’m not functioning properly.” Tears pushed their way out of his eyes, tracking down his cheeks, “Why didn’t he fix me?”

The android in the mirror studied Lore, then spoke in the voice of Crosis, “If it meant that you would have to give up all of your ambitions, all of your lofty goals of superiority, to be as loved and accepted as Data is, would you still want to be fixed? Even if it turned you into a ‘puppet’ as you so called it?”

Lore answered in a raspy sob, “Yes. I would.” The sight of the sobbing android reflected in the mirror broke Lore out of his hallucination. “I’m finally going mad.” He left the bunk room and returned to the helm seat to finish out the four days travel required to get to Omicron Theta.


	5. A Tranquil Time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: Sexual content.

**Stardate: 58495.3**

 

Commander Data sat in the captain’s chair on the raised portion of the bridge of the USS Enterprise, enjoying the quiet of the remainder of the gamma shift. The “night watch” crew tended to be himself and junior relief officers, but neither that nor the dim lighting bothered Data. His gaze passed over the two nearest chairs to his; First Officer’s chair and Counselor’s chair. Both chairs remained empty during Gamma Shift, with the exception of the times he had asked Doctor T’Mera Chipman to sit in the Counselor’s chair. Data rationalized the indulgence with the logic that, as an android, if he required counseling, his android partner was the best qualified to do so.

Data had served on the Sovereign-class Enterprise for seven years, one month, thirteen days, four hours, forty-eight minutes and eleven seconds prior to his original body’s destruction at the Battle of Bassen Rift, but for T’Mera, the past five months had been an adjustment. He accessed the memory of one of their more amusing conversations about the ship from the first days after he had returned to duty:

_T’Mera let out a sigh as she and Data walked through the corridors, “Dark grey walls, dark maroon doors and carpet, taupe walls at the junctions and in quarters… This is a darkity-dark ship. Did they do this in the hopes that boarding parties would trip and fall over what they can’t see?”_

_Data replied with amusement, “T’hy’la, the lighting is certainly well within human visual range.”_

_T’Mera snorted, “And in human depressing range.”_

Data smiled at the memory, but conceded the point to her. The Enterprise-E was far more militaristic than the Galaxy-class ship had been. Data also missed the families and children that made the previous Enterprise feel more like a vibrant city. He could not argue with the logic of keeping civilians and children to a minimal level during wartimes, but he could regret the necessity.

The turbolift opened and the alpha shift crew arrived to take their stations. Data stood up, vacating the command chair.

Commander Worf approached the android, “Anything to report?”

Data replied to the Klingon first officer, “All systems normal, sir. We will be arriving in the Sol system within five hours.”

Commander Worf dipped his head, “Very well. I have the Bridge.”

“Aye, sir.” Data pivoted and began to walk to one of the turbolifts.

Worf declared loudly to the computer, “Begin day watch.” The lights on the bridge brightened gradually.

The turbolift doors closed and Data announced, “Deck Four.” The lift beeped, then began to move, as the display on the taupe walls indicated the current position within the shafts of the starship. Reaching the destination from the bridge took little time, and Data stepped out of the turbolift when the doors opened. As Data began to walk the corridor towards his quarters, he noticed a large figure approaching, then immediately identified the man as the Chief of Security, Lieutenant Commander Deni Hagan.

“Good morning, Commander Data.” Hagan offered a friendly smile to the android. At 1.92 meters and 109 kilograms, he towered over the android, but the man’s large, dark eyes tended to give him a gentle appearance, as did the short mop of dark curls atop the Security Chief’s head.

“Good morning, Commander Hagan. How are you, this morning?” Data greeted the security chief.

“I’m fine, sir.” Hagan answered, then winked at Data, “You seem somewhat contemplative. You’re excited and anticipating something, yet having some sort of trepidation.”

Data raised an eyebrow, then nodded, “You are accurate, once again.” The Betazoid chief of security was able to read emotions from the android, but not his thoughts, and the two of them had made a running game of ‘guess the positronic emotions’ in passing. While most humanoids were troubled at having their emotions detected, Data felt a sense of accomplishment. “It recently occurred to me that T’Mera and I have two possible anniversaries upcoming. I wonder if I am expected to make a special occasion of them, or is it only reserved for those who have been joined in matrimony?”

Hagan rubbed at his clean shaven chin, “Hmm. That’s usually determined by culture. When in doubt, always ask your partners. It’s better for them to be happy than surprised, in my opinion.”

“That sounds like wise advice.” Data’s mouth quirked upwards at both ends, “Thank you.”

Hagan started walking, “I need to get to the bridge. Have a good day, Commander Data.”

“Likewise, Commander Hagan.” Data responded, then resumed walking to his quarters. The doors automatically opened and he stepped through them and into the living area. An orange tabby cat leaped down from the elaborate cat tree to greet the android by rubbing against his legs. “Hello, Spot.” Data reached down to pet the elderly animal’s fur, then headed to the replicator. “Feline supplement number twenty-five.” Once the small dish of cat food materialized, Data set it on the floor and watched as Spot eagerly began to consume the morsels.

Having attended to the cat, Data doubled back to the bedroom, past the textured glass wall, then took a moment to appreciate the sight of the woman sleeping in their bed. T’Mera’s straight, brown hair was splayed all over the pillow, with the exception of her bangs. Her eyebrows remained upswept even in slumber, and the visible pointed left ear spoke to her Vulcan heritage. She lay curled on her right side, with most of the blanket wrapped around her naked body.

Data tread quietly around to the right side of the bed, which was reserved for him whenever he decided to join her for shared dreaming or coitus. Prior to his life with T’Mera, Data slept in his uniform and boots, but T’Mera had rules about such things; No outer clothing or footwear in bed. He removed his boots, unfastened and slipped out of his uniform, pulled off his undergarments, folded everything and attempted to get under the blanket without waking T’Mera.

“Mmm, is it alpha shift?” T’Mera’s brown eyes opened and she rolled over to face Data and draped an arm over his body.

Data wrapped an arm over her and pulled her closer, “Indeed. Did you sleep well?”

“Nah, I made a few mistakes.” T’Mera quipped, then snuggled up to Data, feeling his bioplast against hers, “I didn’t hear any alerts. I take it gamma watch was uneventful?”

“Uneventful, and I wished you were in the chair next to me.” Data confessed as he reached beneath her body with his right arm.

“One of these days, Captain Picard is going to finally say I can’t sit on the bridge like a counselor.” T’Mera rubbed her nose against his.

Data returned the nose rub, “If he finally says such a thing, we will cease having you sit there. I do have something to ask you.”

T’Mera rubbed Data’s back with her right hand, “Go ahead and ask.”

“We have two possible one year anniversaries coming up.” Data explained. “The first would be the one year commemoration of our decision to formulate our romantic affiliation. The other would be the marking of one year elapsed since our first copulation. Should we celebrate them? I am uncertain as to whether or not to do so.”

T’Mera lowered her eyelids, gazing into the bright yellow eyes opposite hers, “Usually, people only celebrate a wedding anniversary. I don’t even recall my parents celebrating those. That said, we are _not_ going to be having an anniversary for copulation. Our sex life is already far more public than I’d like it to be, and that’s not even counting any time Deni points out when you have afterglow. If you want to do something to mark the date that we decided to be more than friends, that’s acceptable, but I’d want it to be quiet. Just us. Maybe a few close friends.”

“Very well, t’hy’la.” Data’s lips parted a centimeter to form his android version of a pout, “I am sorry about the publicized nature of our intimacies. I suppose it is just as well, since that anniversary would coincide with the terraforming on Omicron Theta.”

“Your home planet.” T’Mera leaned forward to kiss his pale lips, “Are you looking forward to biological life returning to your effective birthplace?”

Data returned the kiss, “I have few memories from there. I do not really consider it to be my home, nor do I have any nostalgia for the colony or its people. If anything, it is tarnished in my mind, because that is where we first discovered Lore.”

“That reminds me, Bright Eyes.” T’Mera moved her right hand to rake through Data’s fastidiously styled hair. “If you find a positronic android in pieces down there, bring it to me before doing anything with it.”

The edges of Data’s mouth quirked up in a smile, “Agreed. You will be the second to know, after the Captain.” He grabbed T’Mera tightly and rolled onto his back, pulling her on top of him, “We will first be stopping at Earth to pick up the terraformers, so you need not worry about unexpected androids at this time.”

“You made a funny face when you said terraformers.” T’Mera noted, then folded her arms over Data’s chest and rested her chin on them.

“I have met them, before. Luisa Kim, the bio-designer, is very nice.” Data replied to the inferred inquiry, “Bjorn Bensen, the chief engineer of the project, is amiable, although he somehow could tell that I was an android, by touching my hand. He also performed a lengthy palpation of my hand, beyond what would be deemed socially acceptable.”

T’Mera reached for one of Data’s hands, running her fingers over his, “You do have amazing articulation…”

“I’ll bet you say that to all the androids?” Data waggled his eyebrows. “Perhaps I will not seem as much of a novelty to him, this time.”

T’Mera grinned down at Data’s face, “Well, if he does that to me, I’m going to do the same to his hand and pretend I’m amazed that he’s made of meat and water.”

Data gazed back up at the woman resting on him, “The meat robots? Perhaps we should leave that joke for our own private amusement.”

T’Mera nuzzled her face into Data’s neck, “I see how it is. You’re embarrassed by my witticisms.”

“Quite the contrary.” Data lifted his chin to give T’Mera better access, “I enjoy your witticisms. It has simply been my experience that most organic lifeforms do not like to be reminded of the substances that comprise their bodies.”

“I’ll be good, then.” T’Mera traced several passionate kisses along Data’s jawline, “Maybe I’ll finish work on the improved EMH. I can shave thirty million gigaquads off the Mark Four, and get rid of the memory overrun errors.”

“Doctor Crusher has told me she likes the new personality much better.” Data placed both of his hands on T’Mera’s bottom, “Although I doubt we will use it much.”

T’Mera lifted her legs out from in between Data’s legs and straddled his hips, “You never know how much you will or won’t use an emergency program. It’s just good to be prepared.” She lowered her head to kiss Data’s pale lips again, “Speaking of being ready… do you want to test the additions I made to your sexuality programming?”

Data uncharacteristically grunted an affirmative, then rolled both of them over, positioning T’Mera beneath him, “Engaging improved sexual protocols.” His expression turned wistful, “I wish the same could have been done for you.”

T’Mera reached up with her right hand, running her fingers through his hair, “My source code is unintelligible gobbledygook. I’m afraid that biological evolution is the worst programmer I’ve ever seen.” She brought his face closer to hers, then lightly blew in his left ear.

Data shuddered and inhaled in sharp gasps, “Ooh…” His lips parted in an awestruck smile, then he reached out with his right hand for T’Mera’s left hand, “I wish for you to share the new sensations with me.”

T’Mera lifted her left hand, placing her palm flush to his, then interlaced their fingers. “My relays to your relays… Two bodies, one mind.” The positronic communications interlink in the heel of their hands activated, enabling Data and T’Mera to share neural pathways, processor speeds and engrams. She reached up with her right hand, tracing her index finger around his ear.

Data gasped again, then lowered his head, enabling him to brush his lips against T’Mera’s. His eyes closed as waves of sensation traveled through him to her and then back again, carrying her reactions for him to experience. As he alternated between gentle and passionate kisses, he savored each new tactile response being sent to his central processor.

T’Mera’s hand traveled across Data’s torso, ranging from light grazing to firm caresses. This produced soft moans from Data, and she smiled as she shared in his elation.

Data entered T’Mera in a slow, measured way and analyzed the new sensations from each area of sensors. “T’hy’la, you have outdone yourself…” He stopped speaking for a moment, as his body trembled, “The input levels are … marvelous.”

“I’m glad you like them.” T’Mera closed her eyes as Data’s rhythmic movements stimulated sensors inside of her, then transmitted her passion back to him. Each thrust of Data’s hips was punctuated by his ecstatic vocalizations, which T’Mera muffled by pressing her lips against his. In a matter of minutes, euphoric shock rippled through both their positronic relays, followed by involuntary servo spasms.

Data cried out and his body went slack on top of T’Mera. “Most remarkable…” he commented, as the positronic network slowly disconnected, returning them to their individuality.

T’Mera wrapped her right arm around Data’s back, while her left hand disengaged from his right hand. “I cherish thee.” She lifted her left hand to run her fingers through his chestnut brown hair, tousling the normally neat strands, then began to sing to him, “Ever since the day we met... It's you I can't forget… So I say this, my pet… Let's be illogical.”

“I do not recognize that song, T’Mera.” Data’s yellow eyes oscillated as he attempted to find the song in his memory banks.

T’Mera smiled and kissed Data, “That’s because I’m currently writing it. It’s about what you said when you asked me to be with you.” She paused, then mimicked Data’s voice with an engram playback, “Then let us be illogical.”

Data returned the smile and kiss, then lifted himself off of T’Mera, “I am interested to hear the finished version of the song.” He moved to the edge of the bed, “I should get dressed. Geordi and I are supposed to be modifying a few shuttles for use by the terraformers. They will need them for plowing and repopulating the soil with bio-organisms.” As he slipped on the black boxers, he continued, “Then, when we reach Earth, I will need to be in transporter room two to greet the scientists. Once they have settled in, if you wish, you could join us in the observation lounge and meet them?”

T’Mera slid across the sheets, then hopped to the drawers on the right side of the bed. “Quite a busy day for Commander Data. Do I need to be in anything formal, or is the science coverall fine for meeting the terraformers? Assuming I’m allowed to be there.”

“The jumpsuit should suffice, and I see no reason that you should not be allowed to be there.” Data replied while pulling on the rest of his uniform. “It is not an obligation for you to meet them, but I do admit wanting to know if Mister Bensen will be able to tell you are an android from feeling your hand.” He grabbed two gel-infused brushes from the shelf by the sink and smoothed his hair back into its usual immaculate style.

“I’m willing to bet it was your servos that gave it away.” T’Mera offered while fastening her teal coverall over the black underwear. “All right. For your curiosity, I’ll forgo the Vulcan greeting and shake Bensen’s hand, to see if he can tell that I’m an android.” She bent to pull on the flat-soled black boots, then smiled at Data, “I think I’m going to have breakfast today, since I slept. Give me a call if you need me.”

Data returned the smile, then moved close enough to give T’Mera a lingering kiss, “I will do so. Until later, t’hy’la.” He turned, exited their quarters, and made his way to shuttlebay two.


	6. Gardeners of Eden

**Stardate: 58496.2**

 

The image of planet Earth turning below the Enterprise was displayed on the large viewscreen in front of the helm and ops stations. As Captain Picard walked to the rear of the bridge, the turbolift doors opened and T’Mera stepped through them. 

“Can I help you, Doctor?” Captain Picard offered a smile to the holographer.

T’Mera returned a smile to the captain, “Data asked me to sit in on the terraforming briefing. Assuming you have no objections, Captain. He hasn’t called me to tell me not to come, so here I am.”

“Yes.” Picard nodded and gestured to the door to her left, “I’ve authorized you to be at the briefing.” He resumed walking through the automatic doors to the observation lounge.

T’Mera followed through the doors, “Thank you, Captain. I do appreciate it.”

“I suspect that all the requests for your presence are due more to Mister Data’s needs than your own.” Captain Picard replied as they entered the empty observation lounge. 

T’Mera took a moment to look at the first glass case, which contained gold-painted models of previous Enterprise vessels. “You’d be right.” She walked the length of the observation lounge, past the master systems display and computer console to look at the other glass case of ships. “Still, I don’t mind doing my part for you and the Enterprise, whether it’s programming or consulting or just keeping Data happy.”

Captain Picard took the seat at the port side head of the table. “I don’t mean to pry, but so much attention has been given to Data’s wellbeing that you seem to have fallen by the wayside. How are  _ you _ doing? I can’t imagine that being an android has been easy.”

T’Mera gazed at the Constitution-class Enterprise for a moment, then turned to face Picard, “It’s not easy. Sometimes, I feel like a katra in a can.” She walked to the opposite side of the room, to stand by the aft windows. “However, I’m doing fine, and you don’t need to worry about me.” She turned to smile at the captain. “I’ll wait to see where everyone sits, before I choose a chair, since I’m not actually sure what I’m here for.”

“You’re consulting, again.” Captain Picard replied as he leaned back in the chair, “Given that we’re going to Omicron Theta to dig and terraform, there’s a possibility of finding more of Doctor Soong’s work. You and Mister Data are the foremost experts on positronic androids.”

T’Mera rubbed the bridge of her nose, “Ah, I had been joking with Data, but given that there’s still two prototypes unaccounted for…” The sound of the doors opening drew her attention.

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge entered the observation lounge, then grinned at T’Mera, “Consulting, again, I take it?”

T’Mera smiled back at Geordi, “It seems so, although I can’t imagine I’ll have much to add to this meeting. It should be interesting. Using terraforming to return life to an M-class planet that was decimated by a cosmozoan.”

Head Counselor Veluna was the next to enter the room, taking her seat to Captain Picard’s left. The Deltan’s large brown eyes scanned around the table, giving a single dip of her bald head to each person present. A slight smile spread over her full lips as she noticed T’Mera standing near the starboard corner of the table.

Doctor Beverly Crusher was the next to join everyone, taking her place to Veluna’s left. Her blue eyes carried the smile from her lips as she noticed T’Mera. “I see we have our consultant for this.”

T’Mera returned the smile to the Chief Medical Officer and the Head Counselor, “Hello, Doctor… Counselor… Yes, we have our consultant.”

Lieutenant Commander Deni Hagan entered the observation lounge, followed by an ensign in the security division. “Captain, given the preliminary discussions about Omicron Theta, I thought it might be pertinent to have Ensign Murphy here for the briefing.”

Captain Picard nodded to the security chief, “A very good idea. Commander Data and the terraformers should be arriving shortly.”

As if on cue, the automatic doors whooshed open, and Commander Data walked inside, followed by a dark-haired woman and a blonde-haired man. “Greetings, everyone.” Data gestured to the scientists to sit, as he made his way to the master display panel and console. 

T’Mera waited for everyone else to sit, then sat down in the remaining open chair, which was against the aft side of the table, to the right of the blonde-haired man.

Data began with introductions, “This is Director Luisa Kim, Bio-designer.” He indicated the woman with the dark hair and wide-set brown eyes. 

Luisa’s strong, high cheekbones enhanced her friendly smile, “Thank you, Commander. I prefer to think of myself as a gardener of Edens.”

Data continued, “And this is Chief terraforming engineer, Bjorn Bensen.” He indicated the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man with the cleft chin. “You already know Captain Picard, Commander La Forge and Doctor Crusher. May I also introduce Head Counselor Veluna, Security Chief Deni Hagan, Ensign Renay Murphy and Doctor T’Mera Chipman.”

Bjorn Bensen turned to his right to extend a hand to T’Mera, “Nice to meet all of you.” When T’Mera clasped the engineer’s hand, he furrowed his brow slightly, but released her hand after a couple of shakes.

T’Mera bowed her head to the scientists in a greeting, then glanced at Data with a wordless raise of her right eyebrow.

Data pressed a few buttons on the console and brought up the image of an orange and brown planet with two small moons. “The Federation has decided to approve terraforming on class M planets that, for one reason or another, have become devoid of life. One such planet is Omicron Theta, which was attacked by the crystalline entity at the beginning of Earth year twenty-three thirty eight, and which removed all traces of organic life, including soil bacteria, leaving behind bitrious matter, as well as elevated levels of hydrocarbons, lanthanides, and nitrates.” He turned his attention to Luisa Kim, “Director Kim, would you like to continue the briefing?”

Luisa Kim smiled, “Thank you, Commander.” She pressed a button on the small console insert in the lighted curved table, changing the display screen to show the thirty year plan, “Since it’s already class M, we can skip past phases one and two and move to three, which is hydraulics. We’ll also be using the pre-existing underground bunker as labs and quarters, thus saving us the time it would have taken to build a residential station. The hydraulics specialists will begin with charting the available subsurface water and measuring the amount of moisture in the clouds. We’ll also be creating water basins using hydraulic landscaping, and working to desalinate some of the more saline lakes. Over time, with pumping and filtering, we expect to add more moisture into the planet's atmosphere.”

     Luisa pressed another button, showing a new chart, “Phase four will be the introduction of micro-organisms, like algae spores, bacteria, fungi, lichens and eventually grasses, in order to return the soil to an arable state. Commanders Data and La Forge have modified some of the shuttles here to act as plows and seeders, and which will remain with us after the Enterprise leaves. Each shuttle will have a wide angle tractor beam array that will pulse on and off at a high rate, pointed at the ground. This will enable the soil to be lifted and dropped in greater amounts than with conventional methods. Before this is done, however, each area will be scanned to make certain we won’t be ruining any archaeological areas. Previous reports have most of those as being in the mountains, so we don’t expect any problems.” She gave a quick head nod to Data.

Data continued, switching the display to a view of the planet’s desolated surface, “Currently, the atmosphere on Omicron Theta has minimal oxygen and there is a danger of dust storms. Most of the structures from the Omicron Theta science colony, while still standing, will be in disrepair from being vacant for forty three years. Federation observers and scientists have completed a few surveys of the planet, to make certain that it is a good candidate for rehabilitative terraforming.” He looked at Doctor Crusher with an expectant expression.

Doctor Crusher spoke up, “Anyone on the away teams who needs oxygen will be given a tri-ox compound, and the teams will carry medkits with hyposprays of the compound. That should keep anyone from passing out. The last reading taken of Omicron Theta’s atmosphere still does place it within human tolerance, although it will be like working at an extremely high altitude.” She inclined her head to Data.

“The initial away team will beam down to the Tripoli landing site then search the area. After any security concerns are addressed, and the area is deemed safe, the terraforming team can begin to move into the bunker and set up their equipment.” Data switched the display to a chart of the Omicron Theta itinerary, “At that point, a few away teams from the Enterprise can survey the planet for any possible archaeological sites which might be endangered from terraforming. Once the terraforming team is self-sufficient, the Enterprise will leave, and there will be monthly checks by Starfleet vessels that happen to be in the area.”

Data tapped quickly on the console, “I have also taken the liberty of copying the information I have from the colonist logs that pertained to farming on Omicron Theta. If you look at your seat displays, you will see the directory of the adult colonists, their scientific or community specialty, and their related knowledge. Of particular importance will be the works of Kiran Cooke, who did the majority of genetic modification of agriculture to enable farming in arid or harsh planetary conditions.”

T’Mera leaned forward in her seat, perusing the list of colonists. 

Bjorn Bensen checked the list, then turned his attention to Data, “You mentioned security concerns, but there shouldn’t be any, should there? It’s a dead world.”

Data nodded back to Chief Bensen, “It is, however there have been no extensive searches done for security, archaeological sites or positronic readings.”

Chief Bensen raised an eyebrow, “Positronic?”

“You once asked me where I was manufactured and if there were others like me.” Data gave the chief a quirked smile, “At the time, I had stated that both matters were subjects of protracted discussion. It seems that now is the time to have that discussion. I was created on Omicron Theta, by a Doctor Noonian Soong. Prior to my creation, there were four others, three of whom were prototypes. As of this moment, two of the prototypes are unaccounted for, and might still be somewhere around the colony. If encountered, they should not be reassembled or reactivated until Doctor Chipman is alerted to their existence.”

Chief Bensen turned his head sharply to regard T’Mera, “Ah. That explains your cybernetic hand.”

T’Mera looked up from the colony list to reply to Bensen, “You could tell my hand was mechanical, just from the handshake? You’re good.” She scanned the others at the table, “Data’s right, though. Even if you just find pieces of androids, let me know right away.”

Security Chief Hagan nodded to T’Mera, “We will.” He looked at Commander Data, “I’d like Ensign Murphy to join the away team, since they don’t breathe, and the lack of oxygen won’t bother them.”

Data studied the ensign in question. At 1.77 meters tall and approximately 68 kilograms in weight, Ensign Murphy’s body showed strong musculature, yet lacked curves at the hips or chest, and had no trace of facial hair follicles aside from dark eyebrows. Short-cut, slicked back light brown hair and intense hazel eyes added to the tough stance and forbidding expression that so many in security conveyed. “Very well. The first away team will include the ensign, once Commander Worf approves them.”

“We will be arriving at Omicron Theta in three days.” Captain Picard addressed Director Kim and Chief Bensen directly, “You will be free to roam unrestricted areas of the ship and to use the crew lounge and holodecks if you so desire. Are your quarters satisfactory?”

Luisa nodded to the captain, “Everything is quite satisfactory, thank you, Captain.”

Captain Picard stood, “Very well. The briefing is concluded. Dismissed.” 

T’Mera stood and walked around the table to Data, “I looked over that list of the Omicron Theta colonists. It reads like a who’s who of discredited and disreputable scientists.”

“You would not be incorrect in that assessment.” Data waited for the others to file out of the room, then smiled at T’Mera, “It seems the Chief could tell your hand was mechanical, but not that you are an android.”

T’Mera patted Data on the back, “I don’t act very android-like. I’m really more like an organic person in a prosthetic body. Are you staying on duty now through alpha?”

“I believe so.” Data replied as he walked with her to the exit, “I do not require rest, so I can continue for the rest of beta shift, then gamma.” He leaned to kiss her, just before reaching the door to the bridge.

T’Mera met Data’s lips with hers, “I’ll see you at alpha, then.” She walked onto the bridge, then turned right to enter the turbolift, while Data continued to his seat at ops.


	7. Random Access Memories

**Stardate: 58500.7**

 

Omicron Theta loomed beneath the small ship, in shades of orange and brown with white clouds floating through the atmosphere. Lore set the autopilot to expend energy and keep it over the Southern magnetic pole of the planet in order to avoid detection. He had spent the past few days studying the ship’s systems, and was gratified to learn that the two men had thought ahead and set up shields that blocked scans for positronic signals. Everything about the ship was prepared for stealth and sneaking past sensors of all types, with special attention paid to hiding a positronic android.

Lore checked the display for the transponder signal for the Enterprise; the Federation flagship’s position put it at approximately twenty four hours away from Omicron Theta. The systems diagnostics informed Lore of the low levels of oxygen in the atmosphere, and of the percentage of particulate matter being stirred up by the wind through what was once valley farmland. Once the sensors confirmed no life readings on the planet, Lore beamed down to the surface, then followed the invisible paths of remembered roads that no longer existed.

Abandoned structures lined some of the roads, where the main center of the colony’s town had been. Most of the homes had collapsed, but the stone-walled ones still stood. Lore noted with chagrin that old Tom Handy’s large house persisted. Memory engrams automatically recalled the colony’s petty and spiteful leader:

_Tom Handy called out from his chair on the porch of the house, “Taking your artificial idiot out for a walk, Often Wrong?” His large abdomen shook with laughter._

_Noonian Soong shook his head, “Ignore him, Lore.”_

_Lore’s yellow eyes glared at Tom Handy, but he obeyed. “As you wish, father.”_

_Soong’s blue eyes lit up with delight, “You called me father.”_

Lore frowned as the memory of the pristine masonry gave way to the present day of eroded and dust-covered stone. He walked up to one side of the house and punched the wall with his right hand, leaving the indentation of a fist and several cracks. His boots left deep prints behind in the dusty soil as he walked to the Northeast from what had once been the town square. The valley land became more hilly, until Lore reached the foothills of the mountains. Along the sun-facing hillside, rows of galvanized steel trellises stood as a memorial to the grape vines that had once produced sweet wine for the colony.

_The Detoronto children shrieked and hid behind the vines. “Daddy! There’s the monster!”_

_Nick Detoronto’s hat-covered head poked up from behind some genetically modified concord grapevines. “That’s not a monster. It’s Soong’s robot.”_

_“Why are his eyes scary and yellow?” To Leora’s seven year old mind, the android seemed to be something to be feared._

_Nick grunted a reply to his children, “Maybe Soong likes that color. Just ignore him and he’ll ignore you.”_

_Benny taunted his younger sister, “The robot’s gonna eat you, Leora. Ooooooooh.”_

_The thought of being eaten sent Leora into hysterics, and Lore’s ears were assaulted by the high pitched screams._

_Lore stopped walking and glared at Leora, “I don’t eat anything.”_

_“Never?” Big, saucer-like brown eyes stared through vines at the android, as Leora’s fear was broken by curiosity. “You don’t get hungry?”_

_“I never get hungry.” Lore frowned, then continued on his way._

Lore let out a soft sigh and continued to the East, forded the small brook that trickled down from the mountainside, then followed the water as it turned reddish-brown and terminated in a muddy riverbed near what used to be the farmlands run by Kiran Cooke. One of the fields still contained the petrified remains of what must have been tall grass; Perhaps it had once been corn or quintotriticale, but now resembled vertical stakes jutting up from the ground in evenly spaced rows, like grave markers. Lore felt a pang of an emotion he couldn’t identify. Kiran Cooke, the agricultural geneticist, had been one of the few colonists who had been kind to Lore and, later, to Data:

_Lore watched as Kiran checked the rows of green plants, following the man through them._

_Kiran stopped at each section, “This here is soybeans, and not just any kind. These are extra hearty. Made to grow in some of the least forgivin’ environments. Of course, even the toughest of plants still needs tendin’. Kinda like children, in that respect.” He gave a toothy smile to the android, “Or anythin’, I suppose. One reaps what one sows and tends.”_

Lore ripped one of the stalks from the ground, then used it to write a sentence in the dirt: _You reap what you sow._ He smirked, then tossed the petrified stalk with all his strength, sending it two hundred meters away, where it landed in a puff of dust. He circled around to the South, past the extensive farm fields, to the very edge of the colony, where the physical plant and water treatment facility sat in disuse. A faint humming drew Lore’s attention and he investigated the sound. The rows of solar collectors were somehow still able to function enough to create and send power to the underground bunker:

  _“There you are, Lore.” Noonian Soong panted heavily as he hiked up the hill towards the power plant. “I wish you wouldn’t wander off. It’s safer in the bunker.”_

_Lore frowned, then replied, “The others are afraid of me, father. You can’t hear them, but my auditory sensors can hear every whisper.” He stared at Soong with unblinking yellow eyes, “They fear me. They call me a monster.”_

_Noonian stopped next to the android, bending and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Humans will always fear and envy you. They fear your power, your intellect. They fear you because you're everything they want to be, but can't be. You’re stronger, smarter, free from sickness, and immortal. You’re superior to them, and it scares them.”_

_Lore grunted in response, “They also call you Often Wrong Soong. They say you keep making the same mistake twice.”_

_“In science, Lore, making the same mistake twice is often not a mistake at all. Quite the contrary.” Noonian reached a hand over to Lore, placing it on the android’s shoulder, “Never mind what they all say. I want you in the bunker and not wandering. If you disobey me again, I'll deactivate you. You won't see the light of day ever again. Do I make myself clear?”_

_“Yes, father.” Lore hung his head, then followed Soong back to the entrance of the underground facility._

 Lore lowered his head, then trudged down the rocky hillside towards the stony area that disguised the Southern entrance to the underground bunker. The entry switch still worked, and the rock-covered door swung inward. He walked through the hollowed out cavern passage to the main corridor, where rock gave way to the artificial structures of the facility.

Lore pressed the red button on the black panel in the wall, lighting the entire underground corridor. He walked down the steel grey corridor, as the light from the perforated metal ceiling filtered through the holes, making patterns on the floor. He stopped at the first door on the right and opened it, then turned the light on inside the room. The communications center equipment remained exactly as it looked on the last day that Lore had used it. Another small pang of an unfamiliar emotion coursed through Lore as he accessed memories involving Missy Bickel, whose specialty was broadcasting sciences:

  _Missy’s silver hair was tied up in a loose bun at the back of her head, “Lore, will you monitor the subspace frequencies? I want to run this test of the wide-band transceivers.”_

_Lore nodded his head once to the woman, “Very well.” His auditory sensors were far superior to her aging ears, and he could detect faint resonant waves that seemed to have some sort of pattern to them._

 Lore reached out to touch the communications equipment racks, as he halted the memory. Those patterns had turned out to be a large crystalline entity that traveled through space, occasionally making a meal of all the organic life on planets. Over the course of months, Lore had learned to speak with the being; It was young for its kind, had been separated from others and then gotten lost and was now unable to find its way back. He crossed the room to a thin door that opened to an alcove with a ladder.

The ladder remained intact and strong, so Lore began the climb upwards to the hatch in the roof of the underground bunker. Opening the hatch proved easy, and Lore continued climbing the strong scaffolding that held the many communications arrays. Halfway up to the arrays, he found his favorite viewing spot; A platform on the West side of the octagonal scaffold. As he contemplated the platform, his positronic brain accessed another pertinent memory:

  _“I thought I was the only one who knew this spot.” Lore declared, as he approached the girl, visually inspecting her as he moved closer. The most noticeable features about her were dark brown eyes enlarged by the optical lenses on an apparatus that sat over the bridge of her nose and rested on the tops of her ears. Brown, curly hair hung loosely down her head, framing her oval face. Lore continued to study her, as his eyes roamed over her shapely body._

_“Ohey! You’re not the only one, obviously. Are you going to make me leave?” She craned her head back to look directly up at him._

_“Do you want me to make you leave?” Lore glared at the girl. “Most of the other children would have run off by now.”_

_The girl snorted indignantly, “I’m not most others, and I’m not really a child. I’m seventeen. Just about eighteen.”_

_Lore attempted to suppress his amusement, “You’re one of the Lucien offspring.”_

_“Good guess. You’re right. I’m Evelynn Lucien.” The girl replied, moving her dangling legs to swing forward and back. “And you’re a Soong offspring.”_

_Lore smirked, “You may call me Lore. Why do you wear lenses in front of your optical sensors?”_

_“Eyes. I have eyes.” Evelynn told the android, “And I’m allergic to Retinax V, like most of my family, so I have to use the old fashioned method to see. Glasses. Don’t tell me you’re going to make fun of me, like everyone else does?”_

_“Why would I do that?” Lore kneeled on the platform next to her. “Are you going to call me a monster like everyone else does?”_

_Evelynn glanced sideways at Lore, “I hadn’t planned to.” She averted her gaze from him and looked to the West, at the colony’s town, the small sports arena where games were held, and off into the horizon, where Omicron Theta’s two moons floated in the sky._

_“You’re not afraid of me.” Lore kept his tone even, making it a statement, rather than a question._

_“No, I’m not scared.” Evelynn responded with a tilt of her head, "I think you're handsome. But I can see why some might find you scary. Yellow eyes can seem like a predator, like a large cat… the type that once hunted our distant ancestors.”_

_Lore raised his eyebrows, “I never thought of that. It would explain the reactions humans have upon seeing me.”_

_“Be glad Soong didn’t make you look like a spider or a snake?” Evelynn offered with a chuckle._

_Lore pondered her words, rubbing his chin, “Having four extra appendages might be more practical for some activities, but it would be more likely to make humans flee in terror. I can’t imagine that being an android snake would make anything easy for me.”_

_“Robotic rodent catchers.” Evelynn smiled, “My father was working on something like that, once. He programs computers and artificial intelligence. He was so angry when Soong finished you and you worked.”_

_“Why is that?” Lore furrowed his brow, then waited for her answer._

_Evelynn glanced around conspiratorially, then whispered, “Jealousy of success. My dad’s always green with envy whenever someone else has a breakthrough… even if it’s in a different field. He’s so hard to get along with that he gets kicked out of wherever we are. This is the tenth place we’ve lived since I can remember.”_

_Lore lacked the proper response for her statement, so he nodded and remained silent._

_Evelynn reached out with her hand, “Could I touch your skin? I’m curious about what you feel like.”_

_Lore regarded her suspiciously, then sighed, “Go ahead.” He held out his right hand to her._

_Evelynn ran her fingers over Lore’s hand, “It’s soft and warm, almost like flesh. You have pores, too. Interesting.” She retracted her hand, “Thank you for letting me satisfy my curiosity.”_

Lore lowered his eyelids in order to avoid more tears, and waited a few minutes, until the overwhelming pain of the memory finally ceased. After he reopened his eyes, Lore began the climb down the scaffold and back into the communications lab. With a brief sigh, he left the lab and returned to the main corridor. From the center of the hall, Lore had heard all the petty bickering, the jealous whispers and the ridiculous power struggles and politics underlying the supposedly “pure science” colony. Soong had stopped worrying about Lore’s location, which gave the android more time and the freedom to wander. After enduring a few more months of being mocked and called names, Lore started to take delight in exposing the colonist’s secrets in cruel and public ways:

_“Good morning, Mister Kelly. I hear your wife is spending the nights with Ed Matagaro, these days.”_

_“Hello there, Doctor Clendenning, how’s tricks? Did you ever find out that it was Chris Finley sabotaging your gamma ray detection tests?”_

_“Well, Mister Handy, you would know about patting one’s own stomach, since yours is too large a target to miss. Have the others noticed that you’ve been stealing from the colony’s general supplies, yet?”_

The familiar waves of anger and rage washed over Lore. With each subsequent day on the colony, the cruelty and bullying escalated on both sides. His father became too busy to spend time with Lore, and instead remained in his laboratory. The only times Lore saw or heard the cyberneticist were when Noonian and Juliana were arguing. Lore broke free from his reveries and looked around. He had absently walked through the hallway, past the upper entrance door, and to the cybernetics lab in the Eastern wing. The sliding doors parted, letting Lore into the area that had once been his home. He stopped in front of the open storage area that he assumed he had been placed in. More memories surfaced:

  _“Noonian, I can’t believe you did this! You have a son, already.” The soft volume of Juliana’s voice did little to hide the anger in her words. “You said the next one could be female.”_

_“What do you want from me, Juliana? I said it’s up to you.” Noonian’s voice was louder, but firm._

_“What can I possibly say? You’re standing there with his head in your hands. Once again, it looks exactly like you.” Juliana countered, “I help you build them and you don’t even give them a single feature of mine. It’s always about your own image.”_

_“It’s still just the one, Julie.” Noonian responded to his wife, “The other colonists have petitioned me to deactivate Lore. I think I know what went wrong with him, and this new one will be better.”_

_“I didn’t think you’d noticed what’s been happening with Lore. He’s become so cruel, so angry.” Juliana’s voice lowered to a near whisper, “They say he’s hurt some of the children and their pets on purpose. And then there’s the matter of Ed Lucien’s oldest daughter...”_

_“Sshhh! I'm well aware of Lore's shortcomings.” the cyberneticist shot back, “You don’t have to tell me everything he’s done. It’s got to be the emotions and ambitions. I’ve seen this before, long ago. The new android won’t have emotions. I’ll see to it. This time, I’ll get it right.”_

Lore’s body began to shake with rage as he recalled his parents’ plan to replace him. They hadn’t even had the courtesy to shut Lore down before activating the new one. In addition to the pain Lore was enduring at knowing that Data was built to supplant him, he now had double irritation, as the colonists took to mocking the new android. True to his word, their father had created Data without any emotion, so the words and actions of the colonists meant nothing to the younger android; In fact, Data seemed to be unconcerned with courtesies or the feelings and opinions of others. To Lore’s amusement, his sibling was clumsy, nudist, irreverent, rude, and obdurate. As much as Lore had been prepared to hate his replacement, he found the opposite to be true. With both androids active, Lore had someone like himself to share life with, even with Soong continually refining the programming and wiping Data’s memory banks over and over:

  _“Noonian, why are you keeping Lore active?” Juliana whispered as they worked on Data’s programming. “He’s just getting worse and worse with the colonists, and I think he suspects we intend to shut him down when Data is finished.”_

_Noonian’s irritation saturated his reply, “I’m not deactivating my one, working android until I get Data just right. I think I fixed the rude and polite problems, this time, for good.”_

_“I hope so. You overcompensated in the last patch.” Juliana retorted. “Data was obsequious to such a degree that I wanted to shut him off, myself.”_

_“I know, I know.” Noonian responded, “I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him. I’m pretty sure I have it this time.”_

_Juliana’s voice contained a level of exasperation that Lore had never heard from the normally passive woman before, “This time, this time. What if we’d spent these past nine months on fixing Lore, instead of taking two months on things like giving Data the “perfect hiccup” only to give up on that, Noonian? I’m trying to rationalize our leaving a cruel and aggressive android alone to get into who knows what trouble, while we sit here and tinker with this one, when there’s no guarantee he won’t turn out like Lore.”_

Lore halted the playback of the memory as he vacated the laboratory and left the bunker through the Northern door. The door shut tightly behind him, disguising itself as a natural hollow in the rocky hillside. Memories of his time on the colony had never caused him pain before; Lore wondered why they should do so now, after decades had passed. He reached into the pocket of his uniform and pressed the transporter recall button on the remote for his ship. Energy shimmered around him and the barren landscape was replaced with the interior of the vessel hiding in the planet’s magnetic pole.

Lore walked to the bunk room to clean off the dust, then grabbed a comb from one of the drawers, and faced the mirror once more. As he combed his hair into the neat, slicked back style his brother preferred, Lore spoke to his reflection, “Soon, Data. I’ll be seeing you very soon.”


	8. The Anniversary

**Stardate: 58503.4**

 

Plastic poker chips clinked noisily as new ones were added to the pile in the center of the hexagonal felt-topped table. While the five senior officers played throughout the evening, T’Mera sat in a chair by her desk, strumming softly on an acoustic guitar. Data expertly shuffled, then dealt cards face down for the first round, his yellow eyes shaded by the translucent visor on his head.

Veluna peeked at her first card, then looked over at the woman playing the guitar, “Are you certain you don’t wish to sit in on the final hand, T’Mera? It doesn’t feel quite right to hold the game in your quarters if you might feel excluded.”

T’Mera glanced up from the guitar, “I’ve never been one for poker, Veluna, but thanks for the invitation. I want to finish this song for Data.”

Deni Hagan checked his card, then returned it to face down on the table, “That song is for the anniversary, then?”

Geordi looked over at T’Mera, from his spot between Veluna and Deni, “Anniversary? Congratulations.”

Data smiled as he continued the deal with the face-up second round of cards, “It was one year ago that I was able to induce T’Mera’s interest in me to that beyond one of a professional nature, at which point we began our romantic affiliation.” He looked at the face up cards, then over at Deni, “You have the King of hearts. You begin the betting.”

Deni threw in one of the red chips, “I’ll start the betting with five. You make it sound so romantic, Data. Induce interest.”

After each player added their red chip to the pot, Data dealt the next round face up, “Ah, two fours for the counselor, so far… No help for Geordi… nor for myself… or Commander Hagan or Commander Worf.” He looked over at T’Mera, “As this is the final round of the night, t’hy’la, I would like to give you your gift after it is over.”

T’Mera replied as her fingers gently plucked the guitar strings, “All right, Bright Eyes.”

Veluna threw a red chip into the center, “I am betting five and raising five.” She added the second red chip. “It’s the android version of romance, Deni.”

Geordi threw in a blue chip, “Ten, it is. I’m curious to see what the gift is, Data. Is it private?”

“No, Geordi.” Data added a blue chip to the pile, “Anyone who wishes to see it may remain to do so.”

Worf threw in a blue chip, “I am also curious.”

Once Deni had thrown in his blue chip, Data dealt the third round face up. “Four of clubs, giving the counselor three of a kind… Ace of clubs for Geordi, giving one pair… no help for the rest of us.”

Veluna threw another blue chip in, “I’ll raise it by ten.”

Deni chuckled and put his cards down, pushing them away. “I fold.”

Data did the same, “I also fold.”

Geordi threw in his chips, “I’m still in.” He looked back over at T’Mera, “Will you be playing Data’s song, then, since he’ll be giving you a gift?”

T’Mera nodded with a smile, “That’s my plan.” Her eyes glanced down at the strings as she strummed.

Worf added his chip, “Normally, I would explain how Klingons would do it, but given how strong androids are, it is probably wiser that you both stick with human or Vulcan traditions, so that the ship does not get wrecked in the process of your mating.” He glowered at Data, “I am assuming that there is no crying involved.”

“I give you my word that I will not cry, Commander.” Data inclined his head to the Klingon, then dealt the last cards face down to Veluna, Geordi and Worf.

Geordi shook his head, “I fold.” and set his cards down.

Worf grunted, then placed his cards down, “I fold.”

Veluna smiled, “Three of a kind. Thank you for hosting the game this week, Commander Data.” She scooped the chips to herself with both hands. 

“It has been my pleasure, Counselor.” Data replied, then turned to T’Mera, “This is the first time I have ever had a romantic anniversary. Perhaps you should go first?” He removed the green eyeshade visor from his head and placed it on the table.

T’Mera blinked in surprise, then checked the other four officers’ reactions. “If you wish.” She sat up straighter, then began to pluck the strings in a classical style as she sang.

 

“Ever since the day we met,

It's you I can't forget,

So I say this, my pet...

Let's be illogical.

 

Each time our eyes would meet,

I'd think you're oh so sweet,

Our love just can't be beat...

Let's be illogical.

 

We've stayed side by side through laughter and pain.

We've bumbled through some things and rode the logic train.

We’ve built a solid bond that we just can't explain.

In sickness and in health, in sunshine, snow or rain...

 

With each and every day,

Our love is here to stay,

If it makes no sense that way...

Let's be illogical.”

 

Geordi grinned at the holographer, “That was great, T’Mera.”

Data stood up and walked to his desk as the others indicated their approval for the song, then removed a round container from inside one of the drawers. “I thoroughly enjoyed the song, t’hy’la.” He circumnavigated his way back around the desk, then held out the gift to the holographer. “Please accept this token of my love for you, T’Mera.”

T’Mera placed the guitar on her desk, stood up and reached for the gift. “Thank you, my love.” She planted a kiss on Data’s cheek first, then opened the container in her hands. Pastel red worm candy filled the interior. “Data!!” She grinned broadly, “It’s perfect!” She reached in, picked out a worm, tossed it into her mouth and started to chew.

Worf’s bushy eyebrows knit together, “You are giving her candy gagh?”

Geordi noticed the bewildered looks on Veluna and Deni’s faces, then explained to them, “It’s a can of worms, I think. It’s sort of a little running joke they have going on.” He looked back at Data for confirmation.

Data’s lips quirked up in his usual smile, “That is correct, Geordi. When I approached the subject of romance, T’Mera told me that I would be opening a can of worms. These are not actual annelids, but are elongated pieces of chewing gum shaped to look like them, in a variety of flavors.”

Deni chuckled, “Ah, now I understand.” He tilted his head, “Not that I ever understood why an android would want to chew gum, in the first place.”

“Leftover habit from my biological life. While I have a positronic brain, my neural net is still biochemical, as far as the programming is concerned. It’s why I have to occasionally sleep, but Data never does. My mind still thinks of me as organic.” T’Mera explained as she reached her arms around Data for an embrace. “Now I’m glad I did the song first. I’m not that good at singing while chewing gum.”

Veluna beamed at the couple, “Congratulations, and may you have many more anniversaries. Good night, everyone.”

Worf dipped his head to the Deltan, “Good night, Counselor.” He moved to pat Data on the shoulder, “The two of you are certainly Par'Mach'kai. I will see you in the morning, Commander Data.” He turned and walked to the doors, and then out into the corridor.

Data nodded to Worf, “Aye, sir. Good night, everyone.” He released T’Mera from the embrace.

Geordi headed to the door, “Good night, you two. Enjoy your anniversary.” The doors closed behind him with a soft whoosh.

T’Mera moved to clear off the surface of the poker table, “So we have an hour or so before you have to assume your duty for gamma shift?”

“An hour, twenty minutes and thirty-two seconds.” Data replied as he put the deck of cards and remaining poker chips into a drawer in his desk. 

“And then you’ll be on duty through the next three shifts, right?” T’Mera flipped the table top, putting the green felt side down and the wood laminate side face up. 

“That is correct.” Data tilted his head to the right, “So whatever you would like to do until I must leave, we will do that.”

T’Mera crossed the room to her desk, then tapped into the console, “Holodeck two is open. We could sit around at the Bali Hai Getaway five. We haven’t done that since before I died. Although, now that I think of it, maybe sand, salt water and servos don’t mix well.”   
  
Data stepped behind T’Mera, embracing her from behind, “You and I are constructed to withstand such elements. I made several design changes to my own body over the years, especially after Devala Lake. Increased adjustable buoyancy and complete drainage.” He turned her body to face him, then leaned down and kissed her passionately.

After a minute, T’Mera pulled away from his lips, laughing. “I’m sorry, Data. I wasn’t expecting you to do a tongue kiss.”

Data’s eyebrows rose as he chewed the accidentally transferred gum, “Hmm. I had often wondered about experiencing edible hydrophobic polymer. Most intriguing. Should I put this in the recycler, or would you rather have it back in your mouth?”

“Just recycle it.” T’Mera’s shoulders shook with laughter. 

Data removed the small wad of gum from his mouth and tossed it into the recycling slot, then resumed the embrace. “The mention of our Bali Hai virtual reality creates an odd emotion for me. I remember our times there fondly, but I also connect those times with B-4. I miss his presence.”

“I miss him, too.” T’Mera rested her head against Data’s left shoulder, “Doctor Vanzanen is a bit late in her report, but I’m sure he’s doing fine. Her last report says he’s the equivalent of a teenager, now. Back in the early days on Ba’ku, B-4 was almost like a baby android. He was cute, in a way, even if he had an adult’s body.”

“I agree with that assessment.” Data spoke in a confessional tone. “Which is odd, considering how impatient I was with him when we found him. I had expected him to be more like me, and was disappointed to discover that he functioned like a very slow child.”

“Given that you don’t remember your own beginning, perhaps you were once like him? It’s really not uncommon when dealing with artificial neural networks that have heuristic algorithms.” T’Mera offered as she rubbed his back, “After we were settled in on Ba’ku, you seemed to enjoy being with him.”

“I did enjoy it.” Data’s memory engrams accessed several memories from the time period of the discussion. “I watched him grow in capability. He was able to engage in free-form play, which is something I have never been able to successfully accomplish. When the Reman rootkit was removed, he developed even further. It was both astonishing and rewarding to observe, as if you and I were raising a child.” He paused for a moment, then lowered his gaze to look into T’Mera’s eyes, “I wonder if it would be possible for you and I to create a true child? With my ability to design and build the cybernetics and positronic brain and your programming skills, it should be tenable for us to procreate successfully.”

T’Mera raised an eyebrow in surprise, “I suppose we could, although this isn’t the proper time, in my opinion. Artificial Lifeform rights aren’t anywhere near close to being figured out. All we have is Gould versus United Earth and the Cumberland Act, both of which had negative outcomes for artificials. Then, there’s your hearing which determined that you are not Starfleet’s property, and then the recent ones where the Mark One got author rights over his creative works and was allowed to keep his mobile emitter. I don’t want Tony Haftel coming to take our baby away.”

“Nor do I.” Data admitted with reluctance. “We can endeavor to create children when we feel the time and rights are more favorable.”

T’Mera raised her right hand from Data’s back, then raked her fingers through his hair, “One idea I had toyed with was raising a baby hologram, over a series of years, so it would have the experience of being small and growing up, and then, when they get to the teenage years, transfer their scans to an android body. That would help guard against the problem of cascade failure in a positronic brain. However, it could be disconcerting to someone to find out that their childhood was a simulation, so I don’t think it’s a good idea to put into practice.”

Data nodded in agreement, “Perhaps not, although I find it to be an interesting perspective on the problem of early development and the probabilities of cascade failure.” A tender smile graced his lips, “I am happy that you are not averse to the idea of children.”

“One day, I’m sure we’ll hear the pitter-patter of little substrate interfaces.” T’Mera raised up on tiptoes to kiss Data again, “We could spend the remainder of your free time here, unsuccessfully attempting to procreate in a biological manner?”

Data lifted T’Mera and carried her to their bedroom, “That is quite acceptable.”


	9. The Surprise Guest

**Stardate: 58504.6**

 

The beeping signal alerted Lore to the arrival of the Enterprise. He waited for the large starship to achieve orbit around Omicron Theta, then stepped over to the transporter controls. Lore fed the coordinates into the computer, matched the Enterprise’s transporter frequency, then pressed the activator. Shimmering energy surrounded the android and his environment changed from the interior of the stolen vessel to the grey walls of the Enterprise. Lore listened for footsteps and headed for the nearest wall panel. He quickly typed into the black panel, choosing text interface instead of voice, and queried the location of Data’s quarters. The answer returned instantly. Lore gritted his teeth; He’d have to take a turbolift to Deck Four.

Lore hugged the interior wall as he traversed the distance in the corridor. He managed to make it to the turbolift without meeting anyone, and as the doors closed, he ordered, “Deck Four.” The ride was short, and Lore slipped out as the doors opened. He continued to hug the walls as he made his way down the corridor and checked the door markings. Footsteps approached, and Lore altered his stride to a more casual pace, keeping his facial expression as blank as possible. As the crewmembers passed him, they dipped their head in acknowledgement, and Lore did the same. He fought the urge to sigh in relief as the passersby seemed to accept him as Data.  His enhanced auditory sensors picked up faint, unfamiliar music playing from a nearby room.

 _I can understand you're living in a prison_

_I know you can only see me as a vision_

_I might fade away with the coming of a new dawn_

_And your heart is breaking… What are you gonna do now?_

Lore slowed down as he approached the door. The nameplate on the door indicated that it was the quarters of Commander Data, but he could hear the music more clearly from just outside the door. A female voice sang harmony along with the words of the song, which made Lore hesitate and listen to the next verse.

 _If you come close enough to see I am inhuman_

_I will tell you why you're feeling so uncertain_

_Every word I say has a way of turning evil in you_

_And your heart is breaking… What are you gonna do now?_

The doors opened as Lore stepped across the sensor line and into the room, where he turned left, towards the sound. It took a split second to gather visual information on the woman sitting at the black desk. Straight brown hair hung just past her shoulders, with the points of her ears poking through the tresses. Deep brown eyes beneath slanted eyebrows and straight bangs focused on him as she swiveled her chair to face him. A black satin choker with a dangling gold infinity symbol around her neck seemed an overly fancy accessory for the teal coverall and black boots she wore. Her right hand moved to press on the surface of the black desk a couple of times, stopping the music.

“Did you forget something?” The Vulcan woman tilted her head to the right and one slanted eyebrow raised as if adding to the inquiry.

“I am incapable of forgetting anything.” Lore answered, while he walked towards her. His eyes scanned the room and stopped on a stylized watercolor painting of what was obviously Data naked with a naked brown-haired woman in his lap, facing him.

T’Mera rose from the chair, keeping her face stoic. “That’s true. Do you need help with something?”

Lore stopped walking, studied her for a moment, then frowned, “You know I’m not him, don’t you?”

T’Mera nodded in reply, “I knew the minute you walked in.”

Lore turned to place his back to the wall in a position where the door was visible. “Who are you?”

“My name is Doctor T’Mera Chipman.” T’Mera leaned back against her desk, her eyes following him.

“You may call me Lore.” Lore pointed to the watercolor, “That’s you in the painting, having sex with my brother?”

T’Mera pressed her lips together, then sighed, “That’s me.”

Lore studied the holographer for a minute, “So, if I kill you, it’ll cause Data pain.”

“Most likely, but if you kill me…” T’Mera folded her arms across her chest, “Then I won’t be able to try to fix you. Assuming you want to be fixed, of course.” She unfolded her arms as she shrugged, “For all I know, you’re happy with your life and pleased to be dismantled all the time.”

Lore threw back his head in a mocking laugh, “Often Wrong couldn’t fix me. What makes you think you can?”

T’Mera narrowed her eyes at Lore, “Because I’m a far better programmer than Soong ever was, and over the past year, I’ve gotten to be good at positronic neural programming. I fixed some errors in Data and got B-4 up a few steps in development. This is also assuming that Soong told the truth and couldn’t fix you, as opposed to the alternative; That he _wouldn’t_ fix you.”

Lore frowned and his yellow eyes fixed on her for a few minutes of silence, then he spoke in a menacing tone, “I could grab you and take you back to my ship and keep you for myself.”

T’Mera leveled her gaze on Lore, “And then what? For that matter, “and then what?” applies to right now, as well. Why are you here and what are you doing, Lore?”

“I told you.” Lore’s anger mixed with confusion, “I’m here to cause Data pain. I’m going to have revenge.”

“Why?” T’Mera remained by her desk. “Is there a reason?”

“He took me apart!” Lore shouted and kicked the leg of a nearby chair.

T’Mera set her eyes on the android, watching him, “Just like that, he dismantled you? Out of the blue?”

“Don’t try to confuse me.” Lore scowled at the holographer.

“As an android, you should be governed by a certain amount of logic and rational thought processes.” T’Mera kept her vocal tone informational as she spoke, “Your confusion might be stemming from the incongruity of what you feel versus the logic of events and consequences. Yes, your rights as a sentient being have been violated, but would you want to stand trial? Would you have accepted being put in a penal colony, assuming one could hold you? Or do you think you hold no culpability?”

“Here we go, again. I’m the evil monster.” Lore stalked over to stand in front of T’Mera, “I should kill you, and then, after my brother finds your broken body, I should take him apart.”

“And then what?” T’Mera kept still and looked up into the angry yellow eyes.

“What?” The anger in Lore’s eyes began to dissipate.

“You heard me.” T’Mera reiterated, as her dark eyes fixed on his. “And then what? You kill me, you kill Data, and then.... Happily ever after?” After waiting a few moments with no reply from Lore, she continued, “You kill, you get disassembled, you get reassembled, you kill, you get disassembled, and so forth. So, here you are, ready to kill for revenge, and… then what?”

Lore stared into T’Mera’s dark eyes for a moment, then seemed to deflate, “Then I get shut down and disassembled.”

“This is your crossroads, Lore.” T’Mera remained still as she spoke. “It’s a chance to finally get off the circular path you’ve been on, if you really want to. I can tell you with all certainty that there were definite errors in Soong’s base programming for both B-4 and Data. It’s logical to assume you contain the same errors, since you were the intervening android.”

“How do I know _you_ won’t just deactivate and disassemble me?” Lore eyed T’Mera with suspicion.

T’Mera replied calmly, “It would serve no logical purpose for me to dismantle you, unless you’re being unreasonably violent. I’ve often argued with Data over your fate, and it’s one of the few unresolved issues he and I have. It’s my contention that you can be repaired. Therefore, it is in my interest to prove myself correct. If all I do is shut you down, then I prove that my hypothesis was incorrect.”

The vestiges of anger drained from Lore’s eyes, replaced with a hint of sadness, “You argue over me? I figured that Data would have forgotten about me, by now. Relegated me to a nested memory file.”

“He didn’t forget about you.” T’Mera shook her head. “I also realize the magnitude of what I’m offering. In order to avail yourself of the possibility of being fixed, you’re going to have to entrust me with your life. Even if everything works, your life is going to radically change.”

Lore’s eyes moved around the room as he deliberated, registering the display case with the Starfleet medals and decorations, the briar pipe and varied personal items. Other shelves nearby held a violin and oboe, and several finished paintings leaned against the wall. An orange tabby cat slept peacefully on a hammock in an elaborate cat tree. Once again, his eyes settled on the watercolor painting that seemed to celebrate Data finding love. His mind replayed the short exchange with B-4, who also seemed happy with his lot in life. Lore returned his focus to T’Mera. “What will it entail?”

T’Mera reached up with her right hand, fiddling with the dangling infinity charm, “There’s three ways we can go. The easiest would be a complete wipe and reinstall, with me fixing the base programming. A total clean slate. Of course, you wouldn’t be the same person you are now, but neither would you be haunted by your past or accountable for it. Another way would be for me to fix the base programming, and then do a partial wipe that removes the memories and experiences that caused you to malfunction in the first place. You’d be a slightly different person, but there could be complications with your past. The most difficult one, but in which you’d be mostly preserved, is for me to fix the base programs and leave your memories and experiences intact. It could wind up being extremely painful for you, and I would recommend psychological therapy to deal with the issues that arise from it.”

Lore lowered his head, staring at the floor, “If I’m fixed, what will be done with me?”

“I’d have to call a lawyer that I know.” T’Mera replied softly, “She’s a specialist in artificial lifeform legalities. I’m not actually sure of your legal status, Lore. I don’t know if you’re considered Data’s property or the property of Daystrom Institute or someone else entirely, or if you’re considered a sentient. If you agree to the repair, I’ll be recording the entire process, so that if there’s proof of faulty programming that caused you to behave erratically, it could help your case. I’m thinking that it might be possible to have you remanded to my custody. That’s what we did with B-4. If it’s decided that you're sentient, you may have to stand trial for your crimes.”

Lore studied T’Mera closely, then one side of his mouth raised in a sardonic smirk, “I’d have to give up my goal of ruling the galaxy, wouldn’t I?”

“Probably.” T’Mera deadpanned without missing a beat. “However, ruling the galaxy is overrated, since, once the initial conquering is done, you would spend the rest of your time as an administrator, which is most likely less than satisfying.”

Lore’s smirk faded into a genuine smile, “I didn’t think of that. You’re right. I don’t want to administrate over everyone.” The smile faded to an expression of worry. “How do we proceed with this?”

T’Mera took a few steps, “First, we get you out of that uniform and into a jumpsuit. Aside from the crime of impersonating a Starfleet officer, you’re missing his ranks and combadge. It might also be in your best interest if I immobilize you, so that no accidents happen.” She left the living room area and walked into the bedroom. “Do you require undergarments?”

Lore remained with his back to the wall, but could hear her rummaging around in drawers. “I suppose so, but do I have to be immobilized?” With a heavy sigh, he unfastened the Starfleet uniform, let it fall to the ground, then stepped out of it.

T’Mera returned with a mustard yellow jumpsuit, black undershirt and black undershorts, “These are exactly Soong-type size.” She walked close enough to hand him the clothing.

Lore grabbed the clothing and pulled each piece on, “I’m still not sure I want to be immobilized. That leaves me at everyone’s mercy.”

“I’m mostly worried about reflex actions.” T’Mera walked back to her desk, then tapped something on the surface, “For example, if Data walks in and sees you, and the two of you start to fight before you speak.”

Lore fastened the front of the jumpsuit. “You don’t think we’d talk to each other before punching? Data would never strike first. Our father’s beloved favorite son...” He grumbled, “Nobody would take Data apart and leave him, that’s for certain. Everything is perfect for Data.”

T’Mera reached up to fiddle with her dangling charm, “At any point, did you and Data ever just sit and talk? It seems like you've got a lot of misconceived notions about what his life’s been like.”

“No, we never really did.” Lore stepped over to look at the watercolor more closely, “Maybe you’ll tell me about it?”

T’Mera shook her head, then moved to stand next to him. “It’s not my place to tell his story to you without giving him a chance to do so, first.”

Lore backed away from T’Mera, “I’m still not sure I want to be immobilized. I’ll be helpless.”

“I’ll be protecting you.” T’Mera stopped moving. “I just don’t want any incidents or accidents. Lore, if you want any chance at your life improving, you’re going to have to take a leap of faith.” She paused for a moment, “You can sit in a chair and I’ll deactivate everything but cognitive and communications. Then, I can call the captain and get permission to have you aboard and fix you. I’ll have to call the Daystrom Institute, as well, since that’s where you were supposed to be.”

Lore’s head lowered, as he turned his eyes to the floor, “I don’t know if they have their subspace channels working, yet. Before you blame me, it was the men who put me back together that jammed them, not me. I may as well not be blamed for the one thing I didn’t do.” He moved to one of the chairs at the hexagonal table and sat down in it, then tilted his head to the right.

T’Mera opened a drawer in her desk and produced a jeweler’s screwdriver. “I’d rather fix you than fix blame, right now.” She walked to the left side of the chair, then opened the small panel in Lore’s neck and turned the screw that enabled the connection between the cranial and body units. “There we go.”

Lore’s eyes moved back and forth, as he checked his systems, “Well, you seem to know what you’re doing. I can’t move my body. I’m at your mercy.”

“I’ll keep you safe.” T’Mera slipped the screwdriver into one of her pockets. “Thank you for your faith in me.”

Lore directed his gaze to the floor, “I’ve always known, since the days on Omicron Theta, that I wasn’t functioning in the way father intended. Since my most recent activation, I’ve been able to actually detect some malfunctions, which I hadn’t before. I can’t figure out how to fix myself, and Often Wrong just ignored me and concentrated on Data.”

T’Mera gave Lore a reassuring smile, “I’ll do my best to figure it out and fix you.” She tapped her combadge, “Doctor Chipman to Captain Picard.”

“Picard here. How can I help you, Doctor?”

T’Mera bit her lower lip, then replied to the captain, “I was wondering if you were terribly busy?”

“Not at the moment, Doctor.”

“Would you be able to come to our quarters?” T’Mera kept her voice steady and calm.

“I’m on my way. Picard out.”

Lore frowned, “You seem nervous.”

T’Mera nodded to the android, “I am nervous. When it comes to you, everyone else’s emotions run high. I’m hoping some logic will prevail. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to take you back to Galor IV to do the work, instead of fixing you here.”

“Is there a difference?” Lore raised his right eyebrow for the inquiry.

T’Mera walked back to the desk and leaned against the edge, “I would be separated from Data for an extended period of time, if I have to leave. I can manage, of course, but it would be difficult.”

“For a Vulcan, you show emotion pretty easily.” Lore observed.

T’Mera smiled with a quick nod, “I’m only a quarter Vulcan. The rest is human, but it seems the Vulcan physical attributes really came out in me.” She lifted her head as the door chime sounded, “Come in.”

Captain Picard strode through the automatic doors and into the living area, then stopped short. Several seconds went by before he spoke. “Data is still down on the planet’s surface. Is that…?”

Lore smiled weakly, “Hello, Picard. I’d stand to greet you, but I’m immobilized. It’s been what… eleven years?”

Captain Picard’s jaw dropped, aghast, and he fixed his eyes on T’Mera, “How the hell did Lore get aboard this ship?”

T’Mera shrugged at the captain, “I assume he has his ways, and that the ship and crew recognized him as Data, so didn’t think about calling security. I know this is going to be difficult for everyone, but I’d like permission to try to fix the errors in his programming.”

Captain Picard turned to face Lore once more, “Is that even possible?”

Lore lowered his eyes to avoid Captain Picard’s gaze, “She says it’s possible, so I’m giving everything up for the chance to be repaired.”

T’Mera leaned against her desk, “I’ll still have to get clearance through Galor IV and Bruce to work on him here, if you’ll allow it, Captain.”

Captain Picard sat down in one of the chairs by the hexagonal table, “What if this is one of Lore’s tricks? I don’t think the brig would hold him.”

“The holodeck would.” T’Mera raised both eyebrows and pressed her lips together, “In fact, if people are willing to give up the smallest one… Holodeck Four… I can make that into a workstation and detention cell. I’ve immobilized Lore for now, to help avoid accidents. If it’s a trick, I’m not sure what he’d gain from it.”

“Before I say yes to this undertaking, I will want Commander Data’s input on it, as it impacts his life the most.” Captain Picard studied Lore’s face again.

“Of course, Captain.” T’Mera replied. “I’ll get in touch with Bruce, though, and at least get the ball rolling.” She turned back to Lore, “Do they know you’re gone, at Daystrom?”

“Oh, yes. They know.” Lore averted his gaze from hers, “I didn’t leave very quietly.”

T’Mera winced and bit her lower lip, “Great.” She turned her focus on Captain Picard, “When does the away team return?”

Captain Picard stood, then tugged at the waist of his uniform, “Within the hour, I would think. Once Data has approved of your proposal, and Doctor Maddox agrees, you will then have Holodeck Four at your disposal.” He added, “However, if he winds up being a danger to this ship or its crew, I expect him to be deactivated and returned to Galor IV.”

Lore’s eyes went wide with astonishment, “I realize that I haven’t done much to earn this chance, Picard, but… thank you.”

Captain Picard regarded Lore coldly, “You’re welcome.” He returned attention to T’Mera, “I’m going back to the bridge. Do you think I should call Data back from the away team, or can you handle Lore?”

T’Mera nodded to the captain, “There’s no reason to rush the away team. I can definitely handle Lore. Thank you, Captain.”

Captain Picard gave an acknowledging nod of his head, then stepped out through the automatic doors.

T’Mera exhaled with relief, “One hurdle down, many to go.” She turned back to address Lore, “Just how “not quietly” are we talking, with leaving Galor IV?”

“I might have killed up to a dozen people.” Lore answered, averting his gaze from her, once more. “I didn’t stay to check. I spared B-4 and the woman with him. Emily.”

“That’s a slight relief. Not that I wanted the dozen people dead, but I worked very hard to save B-4.” T’Mera sighed, then walked over to the replicator, “Do you need to eat or drink anything?”

“I don’t need to eat or drink, but thank you for the offer.” Lore responded, “If you have to attend to biological needs, feel free.”

T’Mera nodded, then spoke to the replicator, “Vulcan spice tea, ninety degrees.” and picked up the cup. “I just hope you haven’t killed Bruce Maddox.” She took a sip of the tea, then walked back to her desk and sat in the chair by the console.

Lore spoke in Zome Rylan’s voice, verbatim, “This still doesn’t feel right. Doctor Maddox is away for the week. Are you sure you two have his permission for this?” then continued in his normal voice, “It’s safe to say he’s not dead by my hand. Also, the men that put me together had set up some kind of subspace communications jammer. I didn’t bother to find out where they placed it.”

T’Mera angled the communications display to get herself and Lore in the view, then typed in the cyberneticist’s personal frequency. After five minutes, a man with salt-and-pepper hair and blue eyes appeared on the screen. “T’Mera? This is unexpected. Is something wrong? I’m on Pacifica this week.”

T’Mera took another sip of tea, then stuck her tongue in her cheek for a moment, “Bruce, have you had any contact from Galor IV, yet?”

“No.” Bruce Maddox replied, “I’ve tried to get through, but something must be down on their end.”

“It’s way down. There’s something jamming subspace frequencies there.” T’Mera pushed the hair on the right side of her head over her ear, “I’m calling to find out about the Soong android named Lore, and his legal status. Whose property is he considered to be, or is he considered a person?”

“I don’t think the legal status was ever determined, beyond him belonging to Data and then Data asking us to keep him deactivated.” Bruce frowned, looking past T’Mera to the brown-haired, pale-skinned, yellow-eyed android in the background. “I’m confused. Why not ask Data about all this?”

“Data’s on an away mission, at the moment.” T’Mera explained, then noticed Maddox’s confusion, “The one sitting behind me is Lore. Apparently, some men reassembled him at your lab.” She turned to look back at Lore, “Is that what happened?”

“Two men.” Lore corrected the holographer, “I didn’t ask their names. They were arguing with a Mister Rylan and telling him they were with Starfleet Intelligence. I think someone accidentally activated me before they meant to. They were talking about not giving me a choice in serving them and something about silencing Mister Rylan permanently. I decided I’d rather kill both of them and leave. Sorry about the mess. I didn’t want to kill anyone else, but they all got in my way of leaving.”

Bruce Maddox’s face drained of color, “Oh my God…” He rubbed his eyes, “I have to get back there, right away.” He returned to staring into the screen, “Where are you, now? Is Lore secured?”

“I’m on the Enterprise. I’ve secured Lore.” T’Mera took another sip of tea, then leaned her elbow on the desk, “Bruce, I want to keep Lore and try to repair him. You read my report on B-4, and there’s a high degree of probability that the same logic errors that were in him are also in Lore. If he’s Data’s property or ward, that’ll make it easier.” She bit her lower lip, “I hope.”

Bruce grimaced, then replied, “Whatever Data wishes to do with Lore, I’ll support him in that. You’re the best bet in reprogramming Soong androids. It’s just the level of danger in having him around and active that’s the worry.”

T’Mera nodded in reply, “I realize that, but I’ll be programming a holodeck to hold him. It should keep the danger minimal. Once Data comes back and makes his decision, I’ll know if I’ll be working on Lore here or on Galor IV.”

“All right.” Bruce sighed, “I’d better pack and get back there. Thank you for apprising me of the situation. Maddox out.”

The display screen returned to the Starfleet insignia, and T’Mera swiveled in her chair to face Lore. “Two down. Now we just need Data’s okay on this.”

Lore frowned at the statement, “What if he refuses?”

“He’s going to have to out-argue me, to have that happen.” T’Mera took another sip of tea, “However, Data’s not programmed to hold grudges, so perhaps logic will win the day.” She let out a sigh, “But, in the meantime, it’s like waiting for both shoes of Damocles to drop.”

Lore blinked, then burst into genuine laughter.


	10. Impressions in Dust

**Stardate: 58504.6**

 

Shimmering energy patterns coalesced into the Enterprise away team, led by the first officer, Commander Worf. Commander Data immediately whipped out his tricorder, taking readings, while Security Chief Hagan and Ensign Murphy remained nearby. 

Chief Engineer Geordi La Forge scanned the area with his blue ocular implants. “This is exactly how I remembered it.”

“Director Kim will be pleased.” Data announced as the tricorder readings flashed across the device, “Plant cellulose levels are still present, as are the nitrates the crystalline entity left behind. Few traces of bitrious matter remain. That will reduce some of the steps needed to revitalize the soil.”

Commander Worf began to walk, “The last time we were here, Lieutenant Yar was alive.” the Klingon muttered, then spoke to the others, “Stay alert. While there may be no life on the planet, there were reports of dust storms.”

“Aye, Sir.” Commander Hagan replied, then added, “I don’t sense any other minds besides ours, which is what I expected. This will probably be an easy security sweep.” He raised an eyebrow and focused on Data, “Sir, are you all right?”

Data blinked, then nodded, “I am functioning within normal parameters, Commander Hagan. Was I inadvertently giving off some sort of emotion?”

“Dread.” Commander Hagan answered bluntly.

Commander Worf’s deep voice cut through the sudden gust of wind. “Dread that we will find what we found last time we were here?”

Data pressed his pale lips together, then responded, “It was the first time I saw another Soong android in pieces. I was excited and wished to assemble him. I thought I would perhaps have another me or a brother... a link to my past and a clue to my creation.” He frowned, “We found Lore here, having been dismantled by Doctor Soong.”

Geordi interjected, “And without even a note by Lore’s body pieces, saying “Warning: Maniacal android. Do not reassemble.”

“Exactly, Geordi.” Data followed along with the team as they surveyed the area, “Because of my error in judgement, and my excitement at finding a brother, several hundred Federation citizens perished. One year, eight months, four days, nineteen hours, twelve minutes and eight seconds ago, we discovered B-4 on Kolarus III. At the time, if I had been using my emotion chip, I would have felt reluctance. Still, we assembled him. While he was not a bitter android filled with malice, he had been programmed by enemies of the Federation to gain information from the Enterprise computer. Two discoveries and two betrayals. Now, the prospect of finding a previously undiscovered Soong-type android fills me with dread.”

Geordi frowned, then shook his head, “You’re being too hard on yourself, Data. Both Commander Riker and Captain Picard thought reassembling Lore was the right thing to do, and Captain Picard decided to reassemble B-4. If I remember right, you were making unhappy faces the whole time, until B-4 started talking more and it was clear that he wasn’t like Lore.”

“I do not make faces.” Data tilted his head and raised his left eyebrow at Geordi, “... do I?”

Worf let out a loud snort, “You make them constantly. You always have.”

Hagan grinned, “As T’Mera would say, you wear your vascular fluid pump on your sleeve, Commander.”

Data’s lips quirked in a bemused smile, then he changed the subject, “The remains of the farmlands are to the Northeast of our position.”

Commander Worf gave a nod of his head in acknowledgement, “Commander Hagan, you and Commander La Forge should check the underground bunker and make certain that it is in working order. Commander Data and I will begin a search of the grounds.” He leveled his sharp gaze on Ensign Murphy, “Ensign, I think an aerial search will be the most efficient use of your time.”

Ensign Murphy dipped their head once, “Aye, sir.” The ensign pulled their arms into their chest, at which point their body turned into an amber gelatinous mass that decreased until reforming as a Tarkalean hawk. The dark-feathered hawk opened its impressive wingspan and lifted up into the sky, taking flight. 

Geordi watched the ensign fly away, then whistled, “I wonder if I’ll ever get used to that.”

“Eventually, you do.” Worf told the Chief Engineer, “After about a year of working with Odo, I acclimated to his abilities.”

Data mused as the figure of the hawk vanished into the distance, “I find it intriguing. I cannot imagine a time when I will find such a thing to be commonplace.”

“We will start at the town.” Worf glanced at the android, then started walking Northwest. As they walked, the only audible sounds came from the breeze, the footsteps of the two Starfleet officers, and the faint whirring of the tricorder in Data’s hand. 

Data observed the crumbling buildings as they approached, “Unfortunately, most of the town will need demolishing and rebuilding.” He stopped short, with his facial expression changing to surprise.

Worf stepped over to stand near the android, “What is --” He cut his words off as he spotted what had caught the notice of the Second Officer. He frowned, “Footprints in the dirt.” He crouched to examine them, “Standard issue boots. Very recent.”

Data’s frown deepened to the point of rivaling that of the Klingon’s. “The footprint is two hundred and seventy nine millimeters in length and one hundred and twenty millimeters wide. The exact same specifications as my own foot.”

Worf growled, “Do you mean there is an android walking around on the planet?”

“It would seem so.” Data moved forward, following the direction of the footprints, “They lead this way.” He tapped his communicator, “This is Commander Data to away team. Exercise caution. Commander Worf and I have found what appears to be android footprints in the dirt near the town.”

A reply over the communicator answered Data’s alert. “This is Ensign Murphy. I’ve also discovered footprints near a small river and something that looks like it used to be farm fields. There’s something more, Commander. Someone has written a sentence in the dirt.” A pause, “It says “You reap what you sow.””

Worf tapped his combadge, “Thank you, Ensign. Follow the footprints to see where they lead.”

“Aye, sir.” came the reply.

As the android and Klingon approached a stone-walled home, Worf quickened his pace to inspect an indentation. “Data, look at this.”

Data moved closer, then balled his right hand into a fist and placed it in the center of the indentation, where it fit perfectly. His yellow eyes widened as he looked back at Worf. “Also recently created.”

“Do you believe this was done in anger?” Worf eyed the cracks radiating from the fist mark.

Data slipped his tricorder back into the holster on his uniform, “I will find out in a moment.” He moved to the left of the indentation, pulled his own fist back, and punched the stone, leaving just a slight crack. He pulled his fist back a second time and struck the wall, this time leaving an indentation identical to the first. “Yes, sir. This was made using our full strength.”

Worf’s combadge chirped, “Worf here.”

“Commander.” Geordi La Forge’s voice emanated from the badge. “The underground bunker is empty and secure. The water systems will need to be flushed through, before they become potable. There’s something odd, though. The power and communication systems still work fine, and seem to have been powered up within the last twenty-four hours. The area’s not even up to full temperature, yet, but it’s getting there.”

Ensign Murphy’s voice emanated from the combadges of the away team, “This is Murphy. The footprints from the farm lead past the power plant and into the Southern entrance to the underground bunker.”

Worf scowled, then answered, “Geordi and Deni, remain where you are. Commander Data and I will be joining you in the bunker.” He turned to Data, “Let’s go. The android might be inside.”

Data nodded, then fell into step behind the Klingon, while tapping on his tricorder, “I am scanning for positronic signals. I find none, aside from my own.”

As the two approached the Northern entrance to the bunker, Worf halted. “Footprints leading out of the doorway to here.” He crouched to inspect the tracks, “Then they vanish.”

Data waved the tricorder around the footprints, “I am picking up a transporter field trace, sir. That would indicate another ship in orbit.”

Worf tapped his combadge, “Worf to Enterprise.”

Captain Picard’s voice replied over the comm, “Yes, Number One?”

“Sir, I recommend that you run a sensor sweep for any other vessels in orbit.” Worf’s deep voice reverberated from the arched rocks nearby. “There is evidence of another Soong android on this world, and a transporter field trace indicating that he may have beamed off the surface recently.”

There was a pause, then Captain Picard responded, “We are already aware of the situation. In fact, if there’s nothing else amiss down there, it might be better for Commander Data to beam back to the Enterprise. He has… a visitor.”

Data’s yellow eyes widened with alarm, “Sir, is Doctor Chipman all right?”

“She’s perfectly fine, Commander. Everything is under control. Once you’re aboard, go directly to your quarters. Picard out.”

Data frowned, then looked over at Worf, “With your permission, sir?” At Worf’s brief nod of the head, Data tapped his combadge, “Enterprise, one to beam up.” The shimmering blue energy transported him to the Sovereign-class vessel. With a nod to the transporter chief, Data stepped down from the platform and hurried out through the transporter room doors. He picked up his pace in the corridor, sprinting faster than possible for a human. While his android reflexes kept him from colliding with anyone else, his passage produced several startled exclamations from crewmembers.

Data reached the turbolift and told the computer, “Deck Four! Hurry.” The lift carried him at its singular speed, and he found his anxiety diluted by the amusement of finding himself perceiving the lift to be going slower than usual. The doors opened and Data rushed out into the corridor in the direction of his quarters, once again passing stunned crewmembers with a rare display of his true speed. The doors to his quarters opened and he turned sideways to be able to slip through them before they were fully parted. 

T’Mera sat at her black desk, fingers typing quickly over the console. She glanced at the doorway, then greeted Data, “Hello there, Bright Eyes.”

“Bright Eyes?” Both of Lore’s eyebrows raised as he moved his eyes to focus on Data, “Ah, there you are, brother. I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d drop by. I see you’ve been busy.”

Data’s eyes remained wide as he stared at his brother, “Lore.” He walked over to T’Mera’s side, “Are you all right, t’hy’la?”

“I’m fine. Don’t panic.” T’Mera reached up with her left hand to pat Data’s arm. “I’m working on the parameters for the holobrig, so to speak. You’ll never guess who busted out of Galor IV.”

“Come over here and talk to me, baby brother. Have a seat. I won’t bite, although that’s all I can really do. Your woman has me immobilized.” Lore’s mouth spread into a wide smile. “It’s been eleven years. I’m afraid I haven’t been as busy as you. I was disassembled and locked in a vault, thanks to you.”

Data crossed the intervening space and sat down in a chair at the table, facing Lore. “Some of your positronic connections had been damaged by the phaser blast. You should not be functioning.”

Lore replied coldly, losing the smile, “Some men fixed the connections and put me back together. I hope you’ll forgive me for using the opportunity to escape.”

“You have done much that I cannot forgive, Lore.” Data frowned, still regarding his brother with suspicion, “What are you doing here?”

“I came here to kill you, of course.” Lore answered, “But then I read that you’d already been killed almost two years ago. I hate to be unoriginal, so I decided to visit instead, and I met your lovely lady. She claims she can repair my programming.”

Data turned to look at T’Mera, “You have decided to try to reprogram him without consulting me?”   


“This is the consultation right now, Data.” T’Mera raised her right eyebrow, “I’ll set up Holodeck Four as a brig and workstation. If you don’t want him on the Enterprise, I’ll take him back to Galor IV on the Ghost and work on him there.”

“We would be separated.” Data frowned deeply, “That is unacceptable.”

T’Mera leaned back in her chair to regard Data, “It’s important to me to try to fix his programs. Not just for him and the knowledge of what went wrong, but also for Artificial Lifeform rights purposes.”

Data tilted his head, “How does this pertain to rights?”

“Remember the AI conference? Remember me arguing with Ferguson Davis? Well, everyone seems to expect Lore to act like a person, yet all the while treating him like he’s a thing. If he's a thing, then let's treat him like a broken thing. I'll try to fix the thing.” T’Mera pointed to Lore in his chair.

Data’s lips parted slightly to form a pout, “Please do not call my brother a thing. That would suggest that I, too, fall into the category of a thing.”

Annoyance began to color T’Mera’s voice, “I'll call him a thing, since  _ you  _ were the one that shut him down and approved of his dismantlement. Data, you may not realize this, but you aided in setting a precedent that sentient androids don't get any due process, they just get deactivated and taken apart.” Her voice rose another degree, “He didn't get a hearing or a trial or a chance of rehabilitation. Given that Lore is sitting here right now, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the whole "deactivate and disassemble them indefinitely" sentence isn't one of the best answers to sentient android crime. Does the Federation put criminals into a coma, when they have a chance to be rehabilitated? They didn’t even put Gul Dukat into a coma and he was responsible for, what, a billion dead in three sectors of the galaxy?”

Data frowned, “Lore is too dangerous. He should be deactivated and disassembled.”

T’Mera raised an eyebrow, then shrugged, “Oh, all right. If you think he can’t be fixed and you won’t authorize fixing him, I’ll just vaporize him here on the Enterprise.”

“What?!” Lore hollered in surprise.

Data’s eyes widened in shock, “You cannot just vaporize him! That would be unconscionable.”

“Keeping him him deactivated and in pieces forever isn’t?” T’Mera retorted, “At least, with my way, there’s no chance of accidental reactivation. Hop onto the logic train, Data. You tell me which of us is suggesting the unconscionable course of action for Lore.”

Data averted his gaze from her and stared at the floor for a few minutes in silence, before he replied, “I concede to you, my love. I had not been thinking clearly about him, and have apparently been wishing to hoard my baked confection while at the same time consuming it.” The suspicion and anxiety that had colored his expression upon entrance to the room faded into calm and sadness, “If only Father could have had enough time to repair you, as he claimed he meant to.” He spoke directly to Lore.

“I’m not sure I believe that he “always meant to” get back to me, Data.” Lore replied tersely.

“I agree.” T’Mera looked between the brothers, then fixed her attention on Data, “Soong had twenty-fucking-five years to retrieve Lore from Omicron Theta and fix him and he didn't.”

Data turned to T’Mera in slight astonishment, “T'hy'la, you have just inserted an expletive into the middle of a number.”

Lore’s anger dimmed as he started to laugh, “I just have to say that the amusement from listening to you two makes this worth it, already."

Data gave Lore a brief glare, “I am glad that you find this so amusing. I do not.” His face returned to his standard neutral expression, “I also question your motives. After so many years, it seems odd for you to so easily surrender yourself to being repaired. Why now?”

“Because, Data…” Lore riveted his yellow eyes on his brother, “This is the first time anyone has offered to repair me. There were a few times that Juliana tried to get Father to do it, but he wouldn’t.”

Data’s eyebrows knitted, moving slightly upwards on his forehead, “I… I did not know that, Lore. I am sorry. I had assumed that Doctor Soong had, at least, tried to repair you, in the beginning.”

“Not to my knowledge, he didn’t.” Lore’s voice held bitterness as he informed Data. “This is the first real offer of repair in my entire memory record.”

Data seemed to be processing for a moment, “I will need to speak to Captain Picard and get permission to have you fix Lore here on the Enterprise, T’Mera. While we only have one person in security who can handle Lore, after this recent development, I find myself questioning whether Galor IV is able to handle him, either.”

“I’ll program a few photonic security guards.” T’Mera assured Data, while her fingers continued to type on the console at her desk.

“Holograms?” Lore smirked.

T’Mera smiled at the androids, “Don’t knock photonics. Two EMHs took back a stolen Federation ship from a Romulan boarding party of twenty seven, after the Romulans had killed all the crew. That’s amazing, considering EMHs weren’t programmed to do that. Imagine what one can do when I program it specifically for keeping a Soong-type android in line.” She glanced at Data, then added, “If you’re very concerned, I could just take his cranial unit, since that’s all I really need. He can’t do damage that way, and I’d get to make puns about him being “a head of the game.””

Lore winced at her statement, “I promise not to break out, if only to prevent those puns.”

T’Mera smirked at Lore, then replied, “All right. If you behave well, I won’t pun much. I can’t promise no puns. They’re an innate part of me.” She turned to regard Data, “In addition to the holodeck, we’ll most likely need a counselor that can work with an android.”

“I am certain that can be arranged.” Data replied to T’Mera, “Considering that they are used to working with me, there should be little hesitancy on their part. I assume you will be present in the holodeck most of the time?”

T’Mera stood up and walked the meter from her desk to Data’s chair, “I’ll be there, working on him and watching over him.” She ran the fingers of her right hand through the hair over his left ear, “I’m sorry if I made you panic. I told Captain Picard not to bother you during the away mission, since Lore was immobilized.”

“His footprints are everywhere in the dirt.” Data seemed to relax with T’Mera’s touch, then looked over at Lore, “At least, I hope those are yours, as well as the writing in the farm field?”

Lore replied calmly, “Those are mine, yes. I went for a little stroll down memory lane while waiting for you to arrive.”

“Your fist strolled into a wall, it seems.” Data’s mouth quirked upwards on the left side.

“Tom Handy’s house.” Lore’s eyes focused on his brother, “Just the  _ memories _ of him make me angry.”

T’Mera turned her head to look at Lore, “If you want, I could make a punching bag that will withstand your strikes. You could get some of the anger out.”

“Maybe.” Lore frowned slightly, “You’ll let me have full motion in the -- wait, did Data make a joke?”

Data nodded in reply, “It was a mild joke, about your fist and a wall, but yes, a joke nonetheless.”

Lore’s yellow eyes gained an intensity as he stared at Data, “You’re using the emotion chip, then? I don’t feel its effects on me, anymore.”

“I attempted to use the chip for two years, three months, eighteen days, two hours and five seconds. The chip’s effects on me were extremely unpleasant, to say the least. It seemed to be amplifying my emotions to an extraordinary degree, causing me to become unstable for a time. Even after I had managed to gain some control over myself, I finally removed it. I chose to continue for nearly five years without feeling my emotions, before I was destroyed.” Data pressed his pale lips together before continuing, “The emotional program I am using currently is one that T’Mera wrote. Unlike our father, she actually checked my programming before designing anything for me.”

Lore eyed Data skeptically, “Maybe I could have it back, then?”

T’Mera shook her head, “I wouldn’t recommend it, Lore. Didn’t you go on a genocidal rampage after installing it? Including attacking Doctor Soong physically?”

Lore winced, then frowned, “I didn’t correlate that, but now that you mention it, yes, it happened in that order. I wouldn’t say it was a rampage, though. I had found my true calling.”

“The reign of biological lifeforms is coming to an end.” T’Mera nodded, then walked back to her desk, “I perused the reports about that. I did wonder something. Let’s say you managed to make a hundred Lores and you killed all the biological lifeforms in the galaxy. What were you going to do after that?”

Lore’s eyebrows knitted together in concentration. He began to speak, but stopped before making any sounds. Another few minutes passed until he finally spoke, “I hadn’t thought that far ahead. That must be the administrative phase you told me about. Without the chip in me, I don’t even feel that it’s my true calling, anymore.”

“I’m going to build a chip reader for that emotion chip, to discern what sort of programming it contains.” T’Mera tapped a few keys on her desk console while speaking. “It shows just how much you both trusted Doctor Soong, that you’d both put this chip in you, without question, when the man showed no considerations for either of you. If I was suddenly hijacked out of my daily business to travel to the B. F. Nowhere Sector of the Alpha quadrant, I’d have told him to shove that chip where the sun don’t shine.” She pulled out an isolinear chip from her drawer, stuck it into a slot in the desk, tapped a few more times on the console, then removed the chip. “Data, I’m going to set up Holodeck Four. Will you watch Lore?”   


“Of course, t’hy’la.” Data answered, standing when T’Mera rose from her chair. He walked to meet her, then leaned down to give her a kiss.

T’Mera returned the kiss, “I’ll be back before you know it.” She smiled softly, then exited their quarters.

A few minutes passed with both androids staring at each other, until Lore broke the silence, “This is awkward, isn’t it?”

Data’s face remained passive as he replied to his brother, “There does seem to be a deficiency in our ability to converse with each other in a conventional manner. In our few, relatively short times together, we have managed to create quite a bit of aqueous matter beneath the suspended river crossing.”

Lore narrowed his eyes at his brother, “If she supposedly fixed you, why do you still talk like that?”

Data returned to his seat at the table, “T’Mera fixed the errors in Doctor Soong’s base programs. How I speak is more of an affectation or a habit. I never asked him about it, so I assume that our father originally programmed me to speak in a way that would distinguish me from you. A short time after my activation by the Tripoli landing party, I was able to use contractions, but I continued to converse in my usual fashion.” He added with a snort, “I suppose it did not occur to Doctor Soong that you could easily mimic my speech patterns. Or I yours, if I so desired.”

Lore’s facial expression relaxed, “That gives me some hope that she can fix me without erasing most of who I am.” He paused, his eyes glanced at the watercolor painting, then focused back on Data, “How long have you been with her?”

“If you mean in a romantic capacity…” Data answered succinctly, “T’Mera and I have been a couple for one year, eleven hours, fifty-four minutes and twenty-two seconds. Prior to that, she gained custody of B-4 on stardate 57240.5. As I was also inhabiting B-4’s positronic matrix at the time, that was when we were first together in a more professional capacity. Prior to that, I experienced only passing familiarity with T’Mera at annual cybernetic and scientific conferences. We had not spoken to each other before I was destroyed.”

Lore’s eyebrows rose a couple of centimeters, “While we’re waiting for the Holodeck, I’d love to hear the story of how you wound up inside B-4.”

The left side of Data’s mouth quirked upwards, then he proceeded to tell a condensed version of the story of his destruction and recovery.


	11. Deliberations

**Stardate: 58505.4**

 

After the away team returned from the surface and Lore was secured in Holodeck Four, Captain Picard called the senior staff and Doctor Chipman to the observation lounge for a briefing. The Captain sat at the port head of the table, with Worf to his right and Counselor Veluna to his left. Doctor Crusher was seated to Veluna’s left, and Data and Geordi to the two other seats on the fore side of the curved table. Security Chief Hagan sat on Worf’s right.

As T’Mera lowered herself into the seat located to the right of Hagan and across from Data, she looked around the table and then over to Captain Picard, “Are you certain you want me to be here? I’m verbally and informationally armed.”

“Yes, Doctor, I’m certain.” Captain Picard glanced at everyone, then spoke, “Data’s brother, Lore, has escaped from Galor IV and managed to get aboard the Enterprise. He’s currently being held in Holodeck Four, with Ensign Murphy watching him, along with two holographic security guards that Doctor Chipman programmed.” He turned his gaze to Data, “Commander Data, since Lore affects your life the most, the decision is yours as far as attempting to repair him is concerned.”

“Lore seems sincere in his desire to be repaired,” Data explained to the group, although his face bore a timid and apologetic expression, “So, I have given Doctor Chipman my blessing to make the attempt.”

Doctor Crusher’s jaw dropped, and she protested, “He threatened to kill Wesley! He shot me with a phaser! He’s tried to kill you! You can’t be serious about this, Data.”

Data turned his head to the right, “I am serious about this, Doctor. I have already been through a debate about it with Doctor Chipman. I conceded to her logic.”

Doctor Crusher’s blue eyes flashed angrily at T’Mera, “What possible logic do you have for this?”

“The logic of fixing a malfunctioning machine. The logic of helping a sentient being who has asked for my help. The logic of using my skills to help turn someone into a contributing member of society, instead of leaving them sociopathic.” T’Mera stated plainly, her hands folded on the table in front of her. “I would have liked to have been able to examine him before this briefing, so that I would have been able to say for certain what the malfunction is.”

Worf glowered at T’Mera, “And what if fixing him makes him even worse?”

T’Mera shrugged her shoulders, “I can’t imagine how it will, but if that’s the case, we’ll have to destroy him. Not deactivate, not dismantle… destroy. I realize the Federation has no death penalty, but right now, it seems that Lore is considered property and not a being with rights of any kind. Three times, Lore has been sentenced to a punishment without any trial or rehabilitation. If everyone at this table wishes him to be put to death, so be it. It can be accomplished either by a full wipe of his positronic matrix, or with simply vaporizing him if a full wipe doesn’t eradicate his personality.”

Worf nodded with satisfaction, “That is acceptable to me.”

Data stared at T’Mera with consternation, then caught the quick wink of her right eye. He relaxed in his seat, remaining quiet for the moment.

Veluna spoke up, “I don’t know much about Lore, or about androids, but I don’t know that I’d be comfortable deciding to execute someone. This is doubly so, if there’s a possibility for rehabilitation.”

Captain Picard turned his attention to the Security Chief, “Commander Hagan, when you and Ensign Murphy escorted Lore to the holodeck, did you sense anything from him that would suggest he’s being insincere or duplicitous?”

“No, captain.” Hagan answered, “While I can’t read his thoughts, his emotions are readable, much like Commander Data’s. Lore has a great deal of anger and bitterness within him, with some sadness, but I also sensed genuine hope. In fact, it almost seemed as if he was trying not to be too hopeful, but was unable to curtail the feeling.”

Geordi rubbed his beard thoughtfully, “As if Lore is afraid to get his hopes up, in case it can’t be done.”

Doctor Crusher leaned against the table to get Geordi in her field of view, “Geordi, you can’t be seriously considering this. Because of Lore, Data nearly killed you.”

Data frowned and glanced to the doctor on his right, “Thank you for reminding me what I was capable of when my moral and ethical subroutines were disabled, Doctor. It is not something I am proud of.”

“I’m sorry, Data.” Doctor Crusher lowered her head and pressed her lips together, then looked at T’Mera, “I get the feeling you’re going to try to do this with or without us.”

T’Mera shook her head, “Not at all, Doctor. I have permission from Commander Data, Captain Picard, Doctor Maddox and I have consent from Lore. The main difference is that if the majority of the senior staff are uncomfortable with Lore being on the Enterprise, I’ll bring him to Galor IV and work on him there.”

Counselor Veluna lifted her right hand with her index finger pointed, “If I might ask a question? I wasn’t here for any of the past incidents with Lore, and I’d like to understand a bit more.” Her dark eyes regarded T’Mera, “Doctor Chipman, I realize you haven’t had time to find what’s wrong, but what do you  _ think _ is wrong with Lore?”

T’Mera leaned forward on the desk with her right arm, “When I worked on B-4, I found a fatal logic error in his ethical and moral subroutine programming. B-4 was a prototype with a less complex brain than Lore and Data have. A Reman rootkit was interrupting the subroutines prior to the point where the error was, which, ironically, enabled B-4 to function to a minimal degree. I won’t know until I go into Lore’s code whether he’s got the same problem. My hypothesis is that Lore’s ethical and moral subroutines are not working, at all. For all I know, Soong might have left them out of him, due to how they might have broken B-4.”

The Counselor turned her head to regard Data, “I’m sorry for adding to your discomfort, Commander Data, but without a working ethical and moral subroutine, you were willing to kill a friend?”

Data stared directly at the table as he answered, “That is correct, Counselor. My  _ best _ friend. After that… incident… I altered my own ethical and moral subroutines to the point that they cannot be disabled, and introduced a failsafe that makes them the priority if I lose most of my memory or cognitive functions.”

Geordi looked across the table at T’Mera, “If you think you can do it, I’ll support you and help you where I can. If there’s even a chance that Lore can be changed into a decent person, or at least less of a homicidal maniac, then we should try it.” He threw a sidelong glance at Doctor Crusher.

T’Mera looked back at Geordi, “That will remain to be seen, whether Lore will turn into a better citizen. No matter what, I’d like to install Data’s subroutines into Lore. They’re rock solid.” 

Captain Picard regarded Doctor Crusher, “I understand your reservations, but I think it would be best if this is attempted on the Enterprise, rather than on Galor IV. It is my understanding that Lore may require psychological counseling.” He turned his head to address Veluna, “Will you be able to handle that, Counselor?”

“I believe so.” Veluna nodded to the captain, “Like Commander Hagan, I can sense the emotions of Commander Data, and if he has emotional reactions that are similar to a human, I can work with Lore.”

Chief Hagan spoke up, “Ensign Murphy is the only person in security who’d be able to stop Lore if he gets violent, so they’ll be assigned to some of the security detail, especially when Doctor Chipman needs a break. When Doctor Chipman is present, then she and the two holograms will be able to handle Lore, and the guard detail can be anyone in security.”

Doctor Crusher grumbled, “I can’t believe we’re going to help a murderer.”

T’Mera canted her head, then replied to the Doctor, “I guess I do need to pull out my verbal weapons. Doctor Crusher, I’m quite sure that people said the same thing when you did an end run around Captain Picard and decided to save the Borg named Hugh. That very same Hugh that you insisted on saving would go on to be the one to create the disorganized rogue Borg cube that Lore was able to commandeer, correct? So, in a certain sense, you made those murders possible.”

Doctor Crusher gasped, “You’re going to blame me for that?”

“I wasn’t planning to.” T’Mera replied. “I was pointing out that something you did made it easier down the line for Lore to do everything. Just like Doctor Soong’s mistakes made it easier for Lore to become what he is. There’s also the matter of the emotion chip. Lore had taken Data’s place and Doctor Soong had installed the chip in the wrong android. It was shortly after that when Lore attacked Soong. I have a suspicion that the emotion chip is responsible for Lore’s actions with the rogue Borg. Doctor Crusher, I find it difficult to believe that you were willing to save Hugh, when the Borg have killed so many, yet you’re not willing to allow me to repair a malfunctioning android.”

“I still don’t trust Lore.” Doctor Crusher frowned and folded her arms across her chest.

“I’m not asking anyone to trust him, or to like him, or to be friends with him.” T’Mera responded, still intently gazing across the table, “I’ll be with him mostly round the clock, except for a few breaks here and there. He won’t require anything medical.”

A sigh emerged from Doctor Crusher, “What if he tries his usual trick? Impersonating Commander Data.”

T’Mera nodded to that statement, “I can tell the three of them apart, easily, but that’s a valid concern for everyone else. All I can say is keep the following in mind… If you really look hard, Data’s right eyebrow is usually lower than his left. He rarely keeps his eyebrows even while he’s making facial expressions. Data was raised by Starfleet and has served for almost forty years now; His movements are sharper and his stance is more military and stiff than Lore’s. Data’s movements tend to be very quick and tight, while Lore moves more fluidly and sometimes swaggers. Data also has a more gentle nature.” She smiled at Data, then continued, “If you’re worried, I’d suggest using a safeword or phrase that Data knows but which Lore wouldn’t. That way, people can make sure which android they’re talking to.”

Captain Picard steepled his fingers on the table, “That’s an excellent idea. Mister Data, set up some sort of safeword or phrase. We’ll disseminate it among the crew.”

“Yes, sir.” Data answered with a quick head nod. 

Doctor Crusher raised an eyebrow at T’Mera, “You didn’t mention that Data’s unable to use contractions.”

T’Mera set her eyes pointedly at Doctor Crusher, “I didn’t mention it because Data is able to use contractions, he just normally doesn’t, and Lore can easily mimic his brother’s way of speaking. Using the speech pattern as a guide would be like using “Data wears a Starfleet uniform” as a guide, too. Androids can take their clothes off and put other ones on.”

“I hate to keep doing this…” Doctor Crusher spoke up again, “But what if Lore does something extreme, like, I don’t know… transferring himself into Data’s body and Data into Lore’s body?”

T’Mera replied calmly, “He’d have to be able to get around the intrusion detection system I added to Data. There’s only a slight chance he’d be able to do that, but Data could still use the safeword, in that case. If people think this situation is possible, then it might be best for Data to visit Lore only when I’m present in the holodeck.”

Data placed his elbows on the table’s surface, opened both of his hands, and lowered his head into his fingers, covering his face.

Geordi winced and placed his right hand on Data’s left shoulder. 

T’Mera pressed her lips together, watching Data for a moment, then continued, “The holodeck is configured to have a main detention area, where my workstation and Lore’s holding area will be. If anyone wishes to observe the proceedings at any time, instruct the computer panel outside the holodeck to let you into the viewing area. The viewing area will be able to receive visuals and audio from the cell, but Lore won’t be able to see or hear anyone in there.” She looked around the table at everyone, “I also added a holo-communicator, in case it’s needed for any hearings or other legal procedures. I’m in contact with Irene Shaw, who’s done some work on Artificial Lifeform rights. The entire process will be recorded. I think that’s everything, from my end.”

Geordi raised his eyebrows, “Wow, someone still using the holo-communicators?”

“I realize that they were a fad, especially on ships.” T’Mera smiled slightly, “However, for this purpose, they’re one of the best ways to get everyone in one room. Since it’s a holodeck, it’ll avoid the disconcerting effects of someone standing on the bridge of a starship who shouldn’t be there.”

Captain Picard watched Data for a moment, then turned back to T’Mera, “Doctor Chipman, is there an estimate on how long it will take to find out if Lore’s past behavior was due to programming errors?”

T’Mera pressed her lips together, with a slight knit of her eyebrows, “I would say I should know by the end of a week what the malfunctions are.”

“Very well.” Captain Picard leaned back in the chair, placed his hands on the arms and stood up, “All precautions will be taken, to make certain that Lore remains secure in Holodeck Four. Keep me posted, Doctor Chipman.”   


“Of course, Captain.” T’Mera stood up, along with everyone else, then made her way around the end of the table to Data, giving him an apologetic look. Once the rest of the senior staff had filed out of the room, she placed her right hand on Data’s left shoulder, “Some anniversary, hmm? Annelids galore.”

“Indeed.” Data moved to embrace T’Mera, “Please be careful around Lore. He can appear copacetic, while being manipulative and deceitful. I will be able to come visit after alpha shift begins.”

T’Mera planted a long kiss on Data’s lips, then pulled away gently, “I’ll be extremely careful. See you at alpha, Bright Eyes.”

For the first time since the briefing, Data’s lips quirked in a smile that spread to his eyes. He escorted the holographer to the turbolift, then resumed his bridge post after the turbolift doors shut.


	12. The Holobrig

**Stardate: 58505.5**

 

T’Mera walked into Holodeck Four, through the main workstation and detention area. “Sorry about the wait, Lore. I’ve never understood why they’re called briefings, when they’re usually anything but brief.”

Lore stood near the suspended punching bag, “What’s the verdict? Here or Galor IV?”

“You will remain here, in the Holodeck.” T’Mera replied as she sat down at the workstation. “It’s been agreed that the Enterprise is a better location.”

Lore grumbled and kicked at the bag, “I’m surprised they don’t all want me spaced again.”

Ensign Murphy remained with the two holographic guards. “Did you want me anywhere in particular, Doctor?”

T’Mera shook her head, “You’re fine where you are. This should be a fairly boring duty for you, Ensign.” She pressed buttons on one of the consoles, “Computer, begin constant timestamped recording starting now. Five recording devices. Place timestamp in the lower right. Doctor T’Mera Chipman, beginning procedures on the Soong-type android known as Lore.” 

Lore sauntered over to T’Mera’s side, “You’re quite at home in here, aren’t you?”

“I’m a holographer. It’s what I do.” T’Mera pointed to a nearby rolling chair, “I want you to sit in that. I’m going to need to open your head ports and keep them open. Will you be fine with that, or will you want a hat to cover the open ports and monitors?”

Lore picked up the chair, moved it closer to T’Mera, slammed it down on the floor and then sat in it with a defiant look, “I don’t want a hat. Just do what you have to.”

T’Mera opened one of the drawers in her holographic workstation, then stood up and moved next to Lore. With the tap of her fingers, she opened several panels in Lore’s head, flipping up the hair and bioplast until the metal, wires and blinking lights of his positronic brain were visible. “Three temporal port monitors set… Two occipital, one parietal and sensory..” She attached monitors to the side and back of Lore’s head. “Two in the cerebellum and stem port. One in the frontal forehead.” She placed a final device on his right temple, “Broca monitor.”

Lore frowned as the monitors kept being attached, “How many of these are there going to be? I don’t remember father ever doing this to me.”

“Just ten, and then I’ll need to cable you into an isolinear storage unit, briefly.” T’Mera pulled out the cable and hooked it into one of the ODN conduits in Lore’s head. “I can’t speak for Soong, but when I do something, I do it to the best of my ability. Soong also didn’t use scientific methods or revision control. Try to keep an open mind, Lore.”

Both Lore and Ensign Murphy groaned in unison.

“I’ll be here all week. Try the replicated veal.” T’Mera smirked, then typed into the console.

Lore rolled his eyes and slouched in the chair, “What’s the cable for?”

“I’m making a full backup of your matrix, just in case.” T’Mera opened another drawer and removed the round container. She opened it, picked out a red candy worm and popped it into her mouth, “Would either of you like some chewing gum? It’s one of my habits.”

Ensign Murphy shook their head, “I don’t eat or drink, but thank you.”

Lore glanced in Murphy’s direction, “I don’t need to eat or drink, either, but thank you, Doctor. It seems as if you’ll be chewing alone. I assume my holographic guards don’t eat or drink, either?”

“Nope. These two don’t have any eating or drinking protocols.” T’Mera bent at the waist to peer closer at Lore’s brain. “Wow. I can tell Zome Rylan patched your connections.”

“Is that bad?” Lore raised both eyebrows, started to turn his head to look at her, then stopped.

T’Mera traced a finger over one of the connections, “It’ll hold. Not the most elegant work I’ve seen. And I think… Computer, one overhead spot aimed at cranial apex.” A floating light appeared over Lore’s head. “Oof. I’ll have to have Data look at that. While you’re being backed up, we may as well discuss the worst-case scenario. In the event that you start to go into cascade failure due to emotional overwhelm, what do you want me to do? I could do a force quit, deactivate you, and then start to wipe memory engrams and try you on a half-wipe."

Lore remained silent for a few minutes, then answered, “If I can’t cope with the things I’ve done, then I don’t deserve to live. Let me cascade and then vaporize my cranial unit. Use my body for spare parts for B-4 or Data.”

“Ah, you’re an optimist.” T’Mera tapped more buttons on the console, “Is your interlink sequencer in synchronous or asynchronous operation?”

“Synchronous.” Lore furrowed his eyebrows. “Why?”

T’Mera replied as she set up the 3D midair holographic displays, “I just want to make sure I’m using the right debugger for you.” One of the displays showed a neural net with the pathways being highlighted each time an impulse traveled along them. “And there is your brain, Lore.” She unhooked the cable from the ODN conduit. 

Lore folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in the chair, “Well? Is it better than Data’s?”

T’Mera raised an eyebrow, then snapped her gum noisily, “It depends on how you define better. I’d rather not get involved in your sibling rivalry, if it’s all the same to you.”

“It’s not all the same to me.” Lore sneered at the holographer and stood up, kicking the rolling chair hard enough that it rolled halfway across the floor of the holodeck, “You don’t even have to answer, since I know it, already. Of course, everything of Data’s is better. Often Wrong didn’t fill  _ him _ with substandard parts! No, that honor was bestowed upon me.”

Ensign Murphy and the two guards moved forward momentarily at Lore’s outburst, but stopped and remained at the ready.

T’Mera tilted her head to the right, following Lore as he began to pace, “I’m curious. This is the first I’m hearing about substandard parts. Did Doctor Soong tell you that? Did you overhear it?”

 Lore threw both arms up as he stomped back and forth, “I heard him telling Juliana that Data would be much better. Tom Handy was the one who told me I was made with substandard parts. At the time, I believed it, but looking back, I wonder if he said it just to get me upset.”

 “I don’t know too much about the colony, Lore, but it’s possible that the colonist lied. I’ve seen the list of people who lived and worked there, and I wouldn’t have trusted most of them to run a jumja stick stand. I’ll try to get confirmation of the substandard parts supposition.” T’Mera checked the neural net display, then watched the android, “Your body seems to be functioning fine and from what I can tell, the components are similar to what Data had. I think it’s the programming causing you problems. If it makes you feel better, Soong was substandard in programming all three of you.”

 Lore stormed over to the punching bag, “You said I can hit this thing when I’m mad, right?”

 “That’s correct.” T’Mera nodded as she typed into the console, “It’s set to withstand two of you beating on it, so enjoy. Try not to break your own hand.” She began to return to her work, then turned to add, “Also, since there could be a bit of waiting time, is there anything non-violent that you enjoy as far as passing the time? Books, music, holovids?”

 Lore replied between punches, “I never was much for hobbies. I’ll let you know if I want anything. I spent nearly two years drifting in space, so I learned to entertain myself.”

 “That’s a long time to be spaced. I could set up the far corner of the room with holographic breakables, if you want?” T’Mera waved her hand in the air, and a pen-sized tool appeared in her grasp. “You could smash expensive-looking things while I make the chip reader.”

 “You mentioned the chip reader, earlier.” Lore continued to circle around the room, punching the bag as he passed it. “What’s that going to do?”

 “I want to query the programming on the so-called emotion chip without slotting it into either one of you.” T’Mera answered while she worked on creating the reader, “I can understand you not having the time to do that, since you were trying to deprive Data of the chip, but I don’t entirely understand his motives for shoving it in, one random day.”

 Lore gave a noncommittal grunt in reply as he pushed the rolling chair back near her desk, “What are those lines of text on the small display?”

 “That, my dear Lore…” T’Mera smiled at the android, then snapped her gum, “Is the decompiler taking everything in your brain and logging the output to a form I’ll be able to read. It will give me the direct view of your source code and let me see where you made your own heuristic alterations.” With another wave of her hand, the tool changed to a different type.

 Lore gritted his teeth, turned the chair backwards, then sat in it, using the seat back to rest his arms and chin on, “In other words, you’re going to know every little thing there is to know about me. I’m torn between being upset at how intrusive this is going to be and amazed at how much you seem to know about how we work.” He let out a snort, “So, if you’re so good with all this, how come you never built your own androids?”

 T’Mera absently lifted her left hand and pointed with her thumb in the direction of the two holograms. “I’ve created hundreds of androids, just not sentient ones, since that would be irresponsible. My androids are all made of photons, force fields, tractor beams and the like. I’m not a cyberneticist or a robotics engineer, and I won’t ever degrade Soong’s true bit of genius in creating your physical body and brain. However, he was not a good programmer or father, in my opinion.”

 Lore’s yellow eyes fixed on T’Mera and his voice turned cold, “Why are you doing all this? At first, I thought you offered it because you were afraid I would kill you, but you don’t seem to be afraid of me. It can’t be that you’re doing it for me, since you have no reason to care about me. Is it for Data? For some feather in your cap?”

 “It’s very difficult to explain, but I’m doing it because it bothers me that nobody tried to fix you.” T’Mera responded, stopping her work and turning her head to look at Lore directly. “I get a sense that you’re not supposed to be the way you are, and that everyone ignored the problems, rather than work harder. As an example, they gave me B-4 and told me to recover Data. They gave no thought to B-4, aside from him as a container that was carrying Data’s engrams. It bothered me, and although it wasn’t part of my job, I did everything I could to save B-4, in addition to Data.” She let out a sigh, “I don’t know if I’m making any sense to you.”

 Lore muttered, “I suppose so. You make more sense than Often Wrong did. He told me that he couldn’t fix me because constructing Data was the next logical step.”

 “Constructing Data was his next step, but it was not logical.” T’Mera turned back to her work, giving her gum another snap between her teeth, “If something is not functioning, the next logical step is to determine the cause of the malfunction and proceed with repairs.”

 Lore pushed against the floor with his feet, causing the chair to roll with him on it, “That makes sense to me. Is it true that Vulcans can’t lie?”

 “No.” T’Mera glanced briefly at Lore, then back at her work, “Vulcans, as a general rule, do not lie. However, if logic demands it, then a Vulcan can certainly tell a lie.”

 Lore stood up, pushing the chair away, and resumed pacing, “Then how do I know you’re not lying now? What if logic demands it?”

 T’Mera stopped working, lowered her head and stayed silent for a few minutes. With a sharp intake of breath and an exhale, she swiveled in the chair to face Lore. “Exactly what is it about this situation that’s striking false with you? Do you need to see my background files that prove that I do quite a bit of systems analysis? That’s a fancy term for “I fix other people's broken programming.” Is there something I need to explain better?”

 “It’s not you!” Lore threw his hands in the air as he stomped in a circle around the punching bag. “How come you think you can fix me, when the man who created me told me it’s not that easy and that he couldn’t figure out what went wrong with me?”

 “Lore, it’s not going to be easy.” T’Mera stared directly at the agitated android, “I think I can fix you because I know I have the skills, knowledge and persistence to do so. While Soong was a talented cyberneticist, he really wasn’t good at programming, psychology or the upbringing of artificial lifeforms. May I give you a phrase to tell yourself, when reality doesn’t seem to match what Doctor Soong told you?” She waved her hand and the tool vanished.

 Lore stopped his forward motion and his yellow eyes seemed sad and soulful for a moment, “What phrase?”

 T’Mera held up her right hand, index finger extended to point to the ceiling, “Repeat this to yourself when what he said doesn’t match what you experience: Soong was full of shit.”

 Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek, then spoke, “Soong was full of shit.” He furrowed his brow, then returned to a neutral expression, “That does help.” He walked over to grab the rolling chair, sat in it, then used his feet to roll back to T’Mera’s side. “I think I’ll watch you work. I’ve never seen anyone use holographic tools before.”

 T’Mera’s lips curled into a kind smile, “That’s fine. I can set some music to play while I work, so it’s less boring, if you wish.”

 Lore pondered for a moment, “The song you were playing when I met you… Could you play that one first?”

 “Of course.” T’Mera tapped some buttons on the console, starting the playlist. As she returned to building the chip reader, she could see Lore relax in his chair when the music began to play.

 

_ And your heart is breaking _

_ What are you gonna do now _

_ That you're tired of faking it? _

_ Well, it's hard to take it _

_ When you know what happens each time _

_ The devil with the green eyes _

_ Said you were never meant to be mine _

_ 'Cause I came up from a dark world _

_ And every love I've ever known is dead. _


	13. The Undiscovered Puzzle

**Stardate: 58506.4**

 

Data hesitated outside Holodeck Four, taking a moment to categorize the emotions coursing through his positronic relays. The results caused him to frown; Fear, anxiety, nervousness, and apprehension comprised most of what he currently experienced. He spoke to himself in a soft intonation, “Courage can be an emotion, too.”

The Enterprise computer bleeped, then spoke in the familiar female voice, “Direction unclear. Please repeat request.”

Data’s anxiety dimmed, as he narrowed his eyes at the computer panel, “I wish to enter the main detention area.”

The computer blipped, then stated, “You may enter the holodeck now.”

“Thank you.” Data stepped through the doors as they opened into the main area for Holodeck Four. He noted with relief that everything seemed calm. The human security guard’s expression displayed boredom, while the two holographic guards stood at rigid attention. T’Mera and Lore both sat at the workstation, hunched over something. 

Lore straightened up at hearing the door open and footsteps approaching. He turned and grinned lopsidedly, “Well, well, well, well, well…” He stood, pushed away the rolling chair, then walked towards Data. “How was your duty shift, baby brother?”

“Good morning, T’hy’la… Good morning, Lore. It was uneventful.” Data glanced at the monitors spaced around the open panels of Lore’s head. “How have things been progressing here?”

T’Mera answered the question, but didn’t look up from her task. “The chip reader is coming along nicely. I have some preliminary results from the neural net scan, and I want you to look at the physical connections of some of his links.”

“I trust Lore behaved himself?” Data eyed his brother with suspicion as he moved closer.

T’Mera answered with a snap of gum between her teeth, “He behaved fine, although I do admit it was easier to work when a Soong android could be entertained with a spoon for half an hour.”

Lore smirked and stopped walking, “Sorry. I’m far more advanced than both of my brothers… the “rudimentary” B-4 and the “less perfect” Data.”

Data frowned as he approached his brother, “I thought we had established that I am not “less perfect” than you, Lore?”

“All right, that’s enough!” T’Mera interjected, “You’re both equally as imperfect as the other, and that’s the end of it.” She grumbled as she continued working on the chip reader, "Because Doctor Soong got everyone's letters where we all asked for neurotic sentient androids with inferiority complexes."

Data canted his head to the right, “He did deliver on that promise, then.” He attempted to move behind his brother, only to have Lore keep turning to face him. “Lore, I cannot examine the connections in your head if you keep moving like that.”

“I’m not letting you stand behind me.” Lore continued his slow turning. “You’ll just deactivate me.”

“I will do no such thing. Least of all, because T’Mera would be displeased.” Data attempted a feint in the opposite direction, “Please stand still so I can see what someone did to your links.”

Lore let out a prolonged sigh, then stopped moving. “I still don’t like the idea of you fiddling back there.”

A sharp gasp emitted from Data, then he spoke in a measured calm, “I will not be fiddling back there at the present time, Lore, so you need not worry.”

“That worries me even  _ more _ .” Lore turned to face his brother, “What’s wrong?”

Data’s eyebrows both raised enough to create three horizontal creases in his forehead, “I am not certain how it is that you are currently functioning, given that someone has crossed two of the pathway links in your relays. I wish to wait and see what other malfunctions T’Mera discovers before I attempt to repair what was done to you.” 

A round, wooden table and two chairs appeared near the androids. T’Mera glanced behind her for a moment, “How about you two sit and just talk, so I can finish the card reader? Also, no physical fighting, since Lore is wearing monitors.”

“Very well, t’hy’la. But first...” Data strolled over to T’Mera’s workstation, bent to place his face level with hers, and leaned to kiss her on the lips. 

T’Mera put down the sonic driver and chip reader, then placed her hands on Data’s shoulders, returning the kiss. “I’m sorry, Bright Eyes. I got caught up in my work.”

Lore walked to the table and sat down, watching the couple. “Aww. How sweet.”

“It is understandable.” Data’s lips quirked into his standard smile. He straightened up and walked to the table, then sat down in the unoccupied chair. “Counselor Veluna will be by later, to begin your therapy sessions, Lore.”

Lore scowled across the table at Data, “The whole ship’s probably laughing at me sitting here, going through all this.”

Data shook his head, “No one on the crew has found any amusement in this, so far, Lore. In fact, your presence here worries most of the senior officers.”

Lore slouched in the chair and folded his arms across his chest, “Why shouldn’t my presence worry them? I’m a monster, after all. I’m your evil “twin”, even though I’m nearly a year older than you.” His brows knitted together for a moment, “Or am I an evil triplet, now? I’m not used to there being three of us.”

“I am uncertain as to how we should be classified.” Data matched the expression of concentration on Lore’s face, “If we use uptime, I am the oldest, followed by you, and then B-4. By creation, B-4 is the oldest and I am the youngest. We are triplets in physical appearance only. You and I have virtually identical brain architecture, whereas B-4’s brain is not as complex. As for the issue of you being evil, I am hoping that T’Mera’s repairs will remedy your behavior, or that Counselor Veluna will be able to help you, or a combination of both.”

“What if it turns out that I’m just evil? That it’s not my programming, at all?” Lore lowered his head and stared at the floor.

T’Mera spoke up to answer the question, “If that’s the case, Lore, we’d need a full wipe of your engrams and neural net and to start over with you as a blank slate. However, I don’t think that’s the case, based on what I’m seeing.”

Lore lifted his head, “What are you seeing? I’d like to know.”

“I’d rather wait until I have all the results before making my report.” T’Mera glanced behind her at Lore, “That way, it only has to be given once to everyone and it’ll be easy to find in the recording.”

Lore pressed his lips together in a tight line, then relented, “Fine. That makes sense and it probably doesn’t matter if I wait another few days for more results.”

“Veluna should be here, soon.” T’Mera bit her lower lip, “I apologize that I’ll be in here, listening in on the therapy, but it’s necessary. The human security guard will be put in a dome of silence.”

Lore snorted at the holographer, “It’s fine with me if you hear everything I say. You’re seeing everything about me, over there, right? My brain, my subroutines? Maybe I should take off my clothes, so I can be naked in every way.”

“Please keep your clothing on, Lore.” Data winced at his brother’s jest, “It would help retain a modicum of decorum.”

Lore flashed a lopsided smirk at Data, “You just don’t want them seeing you naked, which is what they’ll realize if they see me that way. But you’re right. I may as well keep a shred of dignity. Let it not be said that Lore the Monster has no sense of decency.” The holodeck doors opening caught his attention and he turned to watch the bald woman in the black Starfleet uniform jumpsuit and teal collared shirt walk in. The woman’s big, dark eyes fixed on him as she approached the two androids at the table.

“Hello there, Lore. I’m Counselor Veluna. I’ll be working with you.” Veluna held out her right hand to Lore.

Lore blinked in surprise at the offered hand, staring at it in puzzlement. After a few seconds, he seemed to understand and reached out with his right hand to clasp and shake it. “Hello. Are you related to Captain Picard?”

Veluna smiled and chuckled softly, shaking the android’s hand and then releasing it, “No. I’m a Deltan.” 

Data stood to relinquish his chair, “Greetings, Counselor Veluna. Please sit here.” He moved to his left, then noticed that a third chair materialized next to him. “Ah. Thank you, t’hy’la.”

“You’re welcome.” T’Mera replied from her workstation.

Veluna sat in the offered chair and placed her PADD on the surface of the table. “What I’d like to do today is to observe the two of you… Lore and Data… in a conversation. Once you feel more comfortable in my presence, Lore, we’ll begin one on one therapy sessions.”

Lore let his eyes roam over the Deltan counselor, then nodded to her, “You’re the expert.” He waited for his brother to sit down, then addressed him, “And now we’re back to the awkward task of talking to each other.”

Veluna picked up the PADD and leaned back in her chair, “If I might offer a starting point, it could be productive to begin with one of the issues that causes the rift between the two of you.”

Data tilted his head to the right in a short, sharp movement, “That is an excellent suggestion, Counselor.”

Lore slouched in his chair, “What about “I am not less perfect than Lore”? It must have bothered you a great deal if, after a few years, you kept repeating that, rather than take my side about what father did to me.”

Data regarded his brother evenly, “And it seems to be a similar sticking point with you that I was created to “replace” you.”

“Well, you were.” Lore spat back, “Rather than try to fix me, Often Wrong gave up on me after only a few months and started to build you. You heard what he said on Terlina III. He didn’t know what went wrong with me, so his answer was to build another me, but one who has no emotions. Wouldn’t you have been upset?”

Data’s eyebrows knitted together in thought, and his eyes glanced to the right, then back at Lore, “With emotions, I would have found such a thing to be distressing. Even without emotions, I admit I was baffled at the erroneous logic of Doctor Soong’s suppositions about your malfunctions and his subsequent disregard for you as a sentient being.” After a pause, he added, “A disregard of which I am also guilty, but for different underlying reasons. I let my own fears and anxieties rule my actions where you were concerned.”

“How could you have, back then? You had no emotions.” Lore narrowed his eyes at his brother. 

Data leaned forward in the chair, resting his elbows on the table and steepling his fingers, “When T’Mera worked on recovering me from B-4, she managed to interpret much of my programming. While doing so, she discovered that I have had emotions since my activation by the crew of the Tripoli, and that the emotions ran on processes in what would be considered a subliminal level for humans. Doctor Soong had disabled several of the connections that would have let me experience my generated emotions on a cognitive level.” Data watched Lore for any reaction, then added, “It is also possible that Doctor Soong did not know I could generate emotions, and simply disabled the connections to be certain.”

Lore frowned deeply, “If that was all it took, why didn’t he just disable my emotions, if they were the cause of the malfunctions?”

“I do not know, Lore, and I do not think father will ever answer that question.” Data pressed his lips together, “Right before I deactivated you, you claimed that there were memories on the emotion chip that father wanted me to have. However, when I slotted the chip, it did not contain any. Were they memories of my childhood on Omicron Theta?”

“No. They weren’t memories of that.” Lore’s expression changed to revulsion, “You’re better off not remembering, trust me. I was there with you, and you were treated even worse than I was. At least the colonists were afraid of me, after a few months. Since you didn’t react to anything they did or said, they abused you freely.”

Data tilted his head to the left in confusion, “You were active during my childhood? I was under the impression that you had been deactivated for quite some time before I was-- “ he trailed off as his eyes widened in realization, “This explains how you seemed to know so much about me when you were first activated aboard the Enterprise. I had dismissed it at the time as superior deduction on your part, but you seemed to know I had trouble with humor, and you brought up my more formal speech patterns.” He stared intently at Lore, with his mouth agape and eyes wide open, “You  _ knew _ me.”

The anger in Lore’s eyes faded, as he leaned back in the chair, lifting the two front legs off the floor, “I was active while they built and refined you. Often Wrong and Juliana argued constantly while you were being designed and constructed, and I had to listen to all of it. They also discussed how Data was going to be a better android than Lore the Monster. I wanted to hate you, but you and I were more like companions… brothers. Even after they wiped and restarted you, each time, you and I were together. On the night before my deactivation, I heard them planning my shutdown, so I contacted the Crystalline Entity. I wanted revenge on everyone for killing me. I wanted our father and Juliana dead, for choosing to keep you and discarding me.”

Data’s voice was a near whisper, but Lore could hear him clearly, “Then T’Mera was right…”

Lore raised an eyebrow in inquiry, “Right about what?”

“T’Mera once explained to me that the difference between the two of us is that you were raised by a narcissistic mad scientist, while I was raised by Starfleet.” Data replied, “I had not considered the possibility that you were active for more than a few months. This explains much.”

Lore straightened up in his chair, then stared Data straight in the eye, “Wait… You weren’t with father and Juliana after they dismantled me?”

Data’s eyebrows rose by a centimeter, and he shook his head, “Not that I can recall. My first full memory record is that of being discovered by the crew of the Tripoli. While I did have the temporal lobe synaptic scans and the journals of the colonists in my engrams, I had no actual memories of my own from Omicron Theta, aside from a couple of vague remnants from the testing of my functions in the underground lab and Doctor Soong’s name.”

“That explains why you didn’t know who I was, when I was reactivated on the Enterprise. I thought you were pretending that you didn’t remember.” Lore leaned forward, placing his elbows on the table surface and covering his face with his hands. “I witnessed them wiping your memory banks several times. It never occurred to me that they wouldn’t keep you... That they would erase you once more and toss you aside.”

“Juliana made that decision.” Data inclined his head to the left as he spoke, “At first, she told me that there was only room for two in the escape pod. However, that turned out to be a lie. There had been room for me, but she was terrified that I would end up being like you, and forced father to leave me behind as a blank slate, deactivated and sitting on a stone slab outside the bunker. Father left a signal device with me that reactivated me when it detected the Tripoli landing party. It is very possible that, had I remained with the Soongs, I would have turned out similar to you.”

Lore suddenly gripped the side of the table with his hands. Shock and anger filled his amber eyes for a moment, then he seemed to calm himself. “But, on Terlina III, you were there with him.”

“I had been summoned there against my will, the same as you, Lore.” Data explained calmly, “I was there for thirteen minutes and forty-two seconds before you arrived, mainly due to my having been aboard a faster starship. I did not even know who he was when he awakened me. You knew him immediately. Given that he was disappointed in my choice of vocation, I did not feel much like a beloved son, as you claimed I am.”

“What did he want you to have been?” Lore’s curiosity overrode his bitterness.

Data shrugged his shoulders, “He wanted me to be a scientist, especially a cyberneticist. To follow in his footsteps. He did not like Starfleet.”

Lore narrowed his eyes in disbelief, “Aren’t you the senior science officer of the Enterprise? The one in charge of coordinating every bit of science that happens on the ship?”

Data held up his right hand with the index finger extended, “Had you been there at the time, you could have pointed that out to him.” He lowered his hand down to the table surface. “Somehow, my programming seems to allow father to override my reasoning and take whatever he says as truth, even though I have learned that just about everything he said should be treated as suspect.”

“Including me being the first attempt?” Lore growled. 

“There were three prototypes before you, one of which was B-4.” Data kept his vocal tone neutral and informative. “Perhaps Doctor Soong meant that you were the first of you and I, with our more complex positronic matrixes. Or the first android who kept functioning?”

Lore stared at his brother in silence.

“Or he was simply trying to placate you.” Data offered with a sigh. “There is much more to discuss, where our creator is concerned, but perhaps we could save opening that bucket of annelids for a different day. If my childhood memories were not on the chip, could you please tell me what the memories were, since they were meant for me to have?”

Resentment swept through Lore’s facial expression with such intensity that Data jumped back in his chair as if struck. Lore screwed his eyes shut, “It doesn’t make any sense. I took them, because he wanted you to have them, but I don’t understand what they are.”

“Lore.” Veluna’s mellifluous voice seemed to mitigate the android’s emotions, “It’s normal to feel the way you do, when you’ve been deprived of a father’s love and approval. Those memories might represent that love, and so, having gotten so little from Doctor Soong, you’ve taken some of what he meant for your brother to have. I don’t think Commander Data is asking you to transfer the memories, though.” She looked at Data for confirmation.

“No.” Data nodded once with his head, with his attention still on Lore. “I only wish you to tell me what they were. You may keep them, assuming they are not dangerous to you.”

Lore’s face became a mask of agony as he returned his brother’s scrutiny. A sidelong glance at Veluna turned into a longer gaze, and his anguish melted. “Fine. The memories I have are from father’s perspective. He’s talking to some human children about the future of humanity. It makes no sense to me.”

Data’s eyes widened with alarm and he turned his head sharply to look at T’Mera.

T’Mera was already looking at the two brothers, her dark brown eyes conveying similar amounts of shock and alarm.

Lore looked back and forth between Data and T’Mera, “Well, well, well, I guess it does mean something. Mind letting me in on it, since they’re part of my memories now?”

T’Mera put down the tool and chip reader and tapped on her console. A large holo-vid display appeared by the table. “I’ll play the old vids there, if it’s all right with you three?”

Veluna turned her head to watch the display, “I think I’m more confused than Lore.”

A man with blue eyes and very short brown hair that was beginning to grey at the temples appeared on the display, setting a birthday cake with lit candles on a table. The man’s voice matched both Data and Lore in tone and timbre, but his speech patterns, cadence and affectations were more reminiscent of Lore’s. The man’s physical build and facial structure were identical to the three Soong androids. The young children in the video blew out the candles on the cake. Other clips that followed contained recorded lessons for the children, and recordings of the man teaching the children.

_ “There were times back on Earth when I doubted myself, my work. But seeing you, I know that everything I've fought for was worth it. We're going to build a new world. I've raised you like my own. You call me Father. But I'm only watching over you. You belong to the future, and someday you will fulfill humanity's promise.” _

Lore watched the display, until the holo-vid ended, then looked across the table at Data, “Those are the same as my memories, although there’s more. Some from inside a prison cell.” He paused, his eyes oscillated as he called up the final memory, then spoke,  _ “Perfecting humanity may not be possible. Cybernetics. Artificial lifeforms. That may be the way to go. I doubt I'll finish the work myself. Might take a generation or two.” _

Data’s eyes oscillated in a similar fashion as he processed and cross-referenced the new information with the old. “I am uncertain as to why he wished me to have those memories and what purpose they would serve, since he worked so hard to keep them secret.”

T’Mera removed the display near the table and returned to her work, “Lore, what are those memories listed under, in your engrams? I would like the filenames, directories, paths and indexes for them, please.”

Lore complied, verbalizing the string of locators for the memories. He turned to Data, “What is it?”

Data shook his head, “It is as if I have been handed a single piece to a puzzle whose existence I was unaware of… one which I was supposed to have been putting together.” His yellow eyes fixed on Lore, “I will need to contact someone before I can speak to you of the memories you contain.”

Lore folded his arms across his chest and narrowed his eyes in suspicion, “Who do you need to contact?”

Data pressed his lips together with an apologetic demeanor, “I am afraid I cannot tell you that until after I have spoken with them.” 

Lore stuck his tongue against the inside of his bottom lip, pushing it out slightly, and nodding his head slowly. “I see. Is it Juliana that you have to call? You mentioned her before. Since father escaped Omicron Theta, I assume she did, as well.”

“That is another bucket of annelids.” Data winced in apology. “I suspect we are nearing the amount that would fill a barrel, at this point.”

“Worms.” Lore gritted his teeth. “Can of worms.”

“That is what I said.” Data replied with a nod. “However, you are correct. Juliana is still… functioning. I met her for the first time four months and twenty-one days after I deactivated you. It was… educational. Until she told me, I had no idea that I had been active prior to being found by the Tripoli landing party.” His brows knit together as he looked at Lore, “I do not know whether you had a good relationship with her. Do you wish me to ask her to come visit you?”

Lore let his arms rest on his legs, with his hands draped over them. His eyelids lowered to cover a bit of his intense stare and the edges of his mouth drooped downward. “I don’t know. I wasn’t close to her, but if you tell her about me and she wants to see me, I won’t stop her.”

T’Mera glanced back at the androids, “Data, maybe you should tell him about her, so that he doesn’t overreact when he does meet her.”

Lore stared at Data expectantly. “Tell me what?”

The crease between Data’s eyebrows deepened as he hesitated, then began the explanation, “When I first met Juliana, there were certain clues about her that only I could perceive. It stands to reason that you would also notice the same clues. The following information was on a chip that Doctor Soong had made.” Data paused, then continued in Noonian Soong’s voice and cadence, “ _ She was injured when the Crystalline Entity attacked... we made it to Terlina III, but then she lapsed into a comatose state. When I realized nothing could be done for her, I built an android and started trying to perfect my synaptic scanning technique so I could transfer her memories into a positronic matrix. _ ” Data finished in his own voice, “He never told her, and she is programmed to shut down if the truth is discovered. Father’s recording insisted that if I told her the truth that she would not be able to be happy. So… I never told her, either. I let her believe she is human.”

Veluna’s eyes widened and she tapped the PADD, then observed Lore for his reaction.

“So, if the android who thinks she’s our mother wants to visit me, I should go along with the deception?” Lore smirked across the table at Data, “I can do that. I’m surprised at you, brother. You’re not usually one to get caught up in a web of lies.”

Data raised his right eyebrow in consternation, “I am not pleased at having to maneuver through the layers of half-truths and loopholes that Doctor Soong has created around himself and us, but I care enough about Juliana to not remove her illusion. As Counselor Troi pointed out to me, if I told her the truth, I would be robbing Juliana of something I had sought all my life… to be human.”

From her workstation, T’Mera let out a snort, “Juliana’s New Clothes.”

Lore threw his head back and laughed. “You’re right!”

T’Mera turned to look at Data, “Bright Eyes, you’re going to be upset at me, but I just noticed another discrepancy in your father’s story.”

Data winced and his shoulders raised a few centimeters, “Elaborate, please.”

T’Mera swiveled her chair to face the table, “Correct me if I’m wrong, but the Crystalline Entity, when it attacks, doesn’t injure. It just sucks everything up. So, a person either survives or they’re gone. How did she get injured to the point of being comatose? And when did that happen? According to what you’ve said, Juliana had Soong leave you behind, so she wasn’t yet mortally wounded. He had just enough time to go put you on a slab with a signal device, then return to her. Yet, the Crystalline Entity was already attacking, which must mean she was in or near the escape vehicle. Does the entity destroy buildings?”

“No.” Lore pushed on the floor with his feet to rock his chair back on two legs. “It just eats organic matter and converts it to energy. All the buildings on Omicron Theta are still there and the only damage is from the decades of disuse. And my fist.” He returned his attention to Data. “She had to have been injured by something else, during the attack.”

Data’s eyebrows jumped a centimeter, then resumed their normal position on his forehead, “T’hy’la, I am not upset at you for finding another dissimulation in Doctor Soong’s message. We are now at the level of matryoshka annelids.”

Veluna placed her PADD on the table, “I think I have enough to assess Lore’s concerns, and to create a plan for the upcoming sessions and initial treatment plans. Lore, is tomorrow at Beta shift start a good time for you?”

Lore raised his left eyebrow, but kept his voice deadpan, “Let me check my schedule. Hmm.” His eyes oscillated a few times, then he smiled at Veluna, “I happen to be free at that time. I look forward to our session.”

Veluna stood up and grabbed her PADD, placing it under her left arm. “Thank you both. I’ll see you later, Commander.”

Data stood with a nod, “Thank you for your help, Counselor.”

Lore sat upright when Veluna approached the exit arch, “Thank you, Counselor.” He narrowed his eyes at Data after the doors closed behind the counselor. “You can’t say “can of worms”, can you?”

“Can of worms.” Data obliged, “Are you happy now?”

“Ecstatic.” Lore muttered and lowered the front legs of his chair to touch the floor, again.

T’Mera swiveled her chair to face the workstation, “I have a favor to ask both of you. I would like a chronological verbatim account of everything that happened with Doctor Soong the day Lore stole the emotion chip.”

“As you wish, t’hy’la.” Data tilted his head, “I should begin the tale, as I was there first. Lore will do it from when he reactivated until he deactivated me, and then I can relate the events that transpired after I was reactivated and Lore had gone.”

Lore smirked lopsidedly at his brother, “Sounds good to me.”

T’Mera listened to the full tale while she continued her work on the chip reader.


	14. Choice and Consequence

**Stardate: 58508.8**

 

Lore lay on the chaise lounge, staring at the ceiling of the holodeck, then groused. “Why are you helping me?”

T’Mera glanced to her left, “Lore, is there a problem with your memory engrams?”

“My memory engrams are fine.” Lore answered in a choleric tone.

T’Mera put the chip reader on the surface of her workstation, “Then why are we starting the “why are you helping me” routine again?”

Lore pushed himself up off the chaise, “I keep thinking about how, if you weren’t you, I might have killed you.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m me.” T’Mera answered while slotting the emotion chip into the reader. “The next time you ask, though, I’m going to say “Who’s on first.” Maybe you need a hobby, so you won’t think so much?”

“I can do sixty trillion operations per second.” Lore began to circle around the punching bag, “A hobby might take up a few of those.” He poked the bag with an index finger, “Veluna shook my hand, yesterday.”

“Do you prefer a different greeting?” T’Mera flipped a toggle on the chip reader, then looked at Lore. “She’ll be coming for your session in a couple of hours, so I can let her know what you’d like.”

“It’s not that.” Lore stopped moving, “I’ve never been greeted, before. It was unexpected.”

“Ah.” T’Mera bit her lower lip, “I didn’t really greet you, either, did I?”

With a snort, Lore resumed his circular pacing around the bag, “I barged into your quarters and pretended to be Data. I didn’t expect a handshake from you.” The whooshing sound of the doors drew his attention. “It must be alpha shift. The security guard is changing.” The melancholy expression on Lore’s face changed to enticement as a 1.62 meter tall blonde woman exchanged posts with the 1.8 meter male that had been standing guard through the gamma shift.

T’Mera glanced up from her work, “Good morning, Lieutenant D’Sora.”

“Good morning, Doctor Chipman.” Lieutenant D’Sora greeted the holographer, then turned her blue eyes towards Lore. “Hello.” She took up her position near the two holographic guards.

“Hello.” Lore echoed the lieutenant’s greeting and tone of voice as he sauntered towards her. “You’re in security? You’re tiny… a full head shorter than I am.”

Lieutenant D’Sora stood at full attention, looking back up into Lore’s face, “I’m the Assistant Chief of Security.”

Lore glanced from side to side at each guard, then back at D’Sora. “What do you do when you don’t have holograms to protect you?”

“I protect myself.” D’Sora answered the android with an intense stare.

Lore chuckled as he stared back at the lieutenant, “Spitfire.” He stuck his tongue against the inside of his right cheek and casually strolled back to the punching bag.

Lieutenant D’Sora exhaled with relief after Lore turned and walked away, then relaxed into guard duty.

Lore reached up to gingerly touch one of the monitors on his head, “How long do I have to wear these, T’Mera?”

“I’d like them to be on you during this whole process, Lore.” T’Mera turned to face the android, “I know it’s inconvenient for you, but I need to see your responses to stimuli in real-time. In addition to my search for the malfunctions in your programming, I’m attempting… well, for the lack of a better term, robopsychology.”

Lore raised an eyebrow, regarding T’Mera, “Won’t that overlap with Counselor Veluna’s therapy?”

T’Mera adjusted one of the displays, “It’s my hope that it works in conjunction with the therapy. She’s going to help you deal with the pain of your past and your goals for the future, while all I’m doing is seeing exactly which stimuli causes which emotions in you, and to what degree. It also gives me a baseline for comparison, once I’ve finished reprogramming you.”

Lore spun to kick the bag as he kept up the conversation, “So, you’ll give me the same subroutines as my brother and force me to be a good, little android, and then use all these logs to make sure everything works?”

“I’m going to give you Data’s ethical and moral subroutines, and then some of the ones I wrote for intrusion detection and emotion control.” T’Mera responded evenly, “However, nothing is going to force you to be a good, little android. I happen to believe that any compulsion, no matter how noble the intent, leads to evil.”

“Explain.” Lore ceased attacking the bag, turning his full attention to T’Mera.

T’Mera stopped her work and leaned her right elbow on the workstation as she faced Lore, “I believe that good and evil are based upon the choices made. If the choice is removed, then there can’t be any ‘good’. If I force you into compliance with the laws of the Federation, I haven’t made you be good. All I’ve done is removed your ability to make your own decisions, and in doing so, I become inherently evil. The purpose of my reprogramming is to give you a broader range of choices and reactions than you currently have. Of course, if you still wish to eradicate all biological life after everything's said and done, the consequences will still be what they’ve always been. Imprisonment of some sort.”

“You’re going to give me better decision-making programming.” Lore pushed at the punching bag.

“Exactly.” T’Mera turned back to the workstation. “What you do with that programming will be up to you.”

Lore groaned and leaned his back against the punching bag, then looked at the security detail. He stormed across the detention area towards Lieutenant D’Sora, “All right, blondie, what is it? You’re looking at me, and not in the same way all the other security guards do.”

“I’m sorry…” Lieutenant D’Sora moved back one step and stammered, “It’s just… well, I’m not used to it… Seeing you is like seeing a very angry, emotional Data.”

Lore smirked and leaned forward over the lieutenant, “Or maybe you’ve just known someone who’s like a namby-pamby Lore all these years?”

Lieutenant D’Sora opened her mouth to reply, but the audible whoosh of the holodeck doors distracted her. She smiled in relief as Commander Data entered the detention area. “Hello, Commander.”

Data dipped his head to the lieutenant, “Greetings, Lieutenant. Hello, Lore. Why are you standing over the lieutenant that way?”

“I was getting to know her.” Lore shrugged, “Hello, dear brother. Coming to check on the progress?”

Data pointed to the table and chairs, “I came to talk to you. I know that Doctor Chipman will inform me of whatever progress she has made.” He walked over to T’Mera and bent to give her the customary kiss, “Greetings, my love.”

T’Mera returned the kiss with a smile, “Greetings, Bright Eyes.” She lifted her left hand, closed her eyes and waited.

Data reached out with his right hand and pressed it against T’Mera’s left hand, then closed his eyes. 

Lore walked to the table, pulled out a chair, then turned it around to sit with his arms resting on the top of the chair back. He watched Data and T’Mera, then muttered, “She calls him Bright Eyes, when the three of us have the exact same optical units…” He stopped speaking and studied the wistful facial expression on Lieutenant D’Sora.

T’Mera’s eyes opened and she pulled her hand away from Data’s and turned back to her work.

Data opened his eyes, smiled, and joined his brother at the table. “How are you doing, Lore?”

With a snort and sneer, Lore answered, “I’m doing fine. This is much better than the two years you left me drifting in space.”

“It is also preferable to you putting fine grind quadratanium in my sparkling wine.” Data shot back. 

“Touché.” Lore sighed and slouched his shoulders to rest on the chair back. 

Data tilted his head to the right and his voice returned to its usual soft-spoken tone, “I am still uncertain as to what initiated your actions when we first reactivated you on the Enterprise. You could have had a fresh start. No one knew about the Crystalline Entity and what took place on Omicron Theta. Why disable me, impersonate me and try to kill a thousand people that you did not know?”

“I didn’t realize you’d been wiped, and that you didn’t stay on Omicron Theta. I was sure you were covering up your knowledge and acting like an innocent android. Then, I asked you about uniforms, and you started babbling about how it would be four years at an academy and so forth, and I realized that you had let yourself be a puppet of the humans. Then, when you told me you were duty-bound to report everything to Picard…” Lore frowned as he spoke, then trailed off.

Data interlaced his fingers together on the table surface, “That is how Starfleet works, Lore, no matter what species one is or what abilities one has. I am not a puppet. I made the decision to be a Starfleet officer. Starfleet appeals to me, even with all the rules and the reality that they do not factor my capabilities into shortcuts. You could have chosen to do anything else. You need not have followed my career path. It just seemed so abrupt to me that you chose the actions you did.”

“Maybe your lover is right.” Lore closed his eyes briefly, then opened them to meet Data’s eyes, “I haven’t been making the best decisions in life. I just act according to my first emotional impulse.”

Data’s combadge bleeped, followed by Deni Hagan’s voice, “Commander Data, incoming signal for you from Daystrom Institute on Galor IV.” Data tapped the insignia on his chest as he rose from the chair and walked to T’Mera’s workstation, “Please reroute the signal to T’Mera’s communications display in Holodeck Four, Commander Hagan.”

T’Mera pushed the side of the holographic display towards Data, then gestured with her hands to increase the size of the floating screen. “I guess Daystrom found the jamming device.”

A frantic B-4 appeared on the monitor, wearing a Daystrom Security uniform and missing his usual red hat. Behind him, the dent in the wall was visible. “Data! Data! I have to warn you! The bad brother is gone and he’s trying to find you. I couldn’t call earlier because communications were down!”

“Please calm down, B-4.” Data spoke to the monitor, “Are you all right?”

“I did a bad thing, Data.” B-4 ran a hand through his unkempt chestnut hair, “I hit Lore first. I’m not supposed to throw the first punch, but I did.”

Lore rolled his eyes and swung his leg over the chair to stand. He traipsed across the area to place himself at Data’s side, “I was about to grab your woman by the throat. You were justified in what you did, B-4. Why are you wearing that uniform? I thought you were a custodian?”

B-4’s yellow eyes widened in alarm, “Lore!” He frowned for a moment, then answered his brother’s question. “I am wearing this uniform because you killed Lieutenant Emery and he was the first shift security. Since you did that, I figured it would be fair for me to do his job so that Kelsik and Terry do not have to do extra work until the new first shift person arrives.” He lifted his hand to waggle an index finger at the screen, “Lore, you’re giving our series a bad name!”

“Series?” Lore glanced at Data, then back at B-4, “What series?”

T’Mera interjected an aside, “The Andromedan androids at Galor IV have several series. Within each series, the androids are identical in appearance, function and behavior.”

Data smiled at T’Mera, “Ah, thank you, t’hy’la.”

Lore scowled at the monitor, “We’re not a series, B-4. Often Wrong only wanted one android. One. He chose Data for that. You and I aren’t even supposed to be functioning anymore.”

“Oh.” B-4’s eyes oscillated slowly as he processed the new information. His focus returned to the screen. “But we do function. Even if Wrong didn’t want us, we are now a series.” His eyes glanced to Data, “I see you found Data. Did you kill more people, Lore?”

Lore threw his hands in the air, looking up at the ceiling, then looked at the screen, “Once I left Galor IV, I didn’t kill anyone else. Are you satisfied now?”

Data narrowed his eyes, “B-4, what is wrong with the wall behind you?”

B-4 turned to look behind him, then back at Data, “That’s where I pushed Lore into it.”

T’Mera leaned to look at the display, then whistled, “Wow. Lore, you made quite an impression at the Annex, I see.”

Lore groaned, but the anger in his eyes faded to amusement. “All right, that was a good one.”

Data’s lips quirked into a smile, “B-4, we seem to have the situation well in hand, so you do not have to worry. If you wish, we will keep you updated.”

“I would like that.” B-4 replied, then waved at the screen. “I have to go back to the security office now. Goodbye, Data, Lore and T’Mera.”

T’Mera smiled at the display, “Goodbye, B-4.”

Data returned the wave, “Goodbye, B-4. Data out.” The display returned to the Starfleet insignia. Data turned to speak to T’Mera, “He has made remarkable progress in such a short time.”

Lore stared aghast at his younger brother, “Remarkable? He’s basic. His computational speed is about the same as an average human.”

“You should have seen him when I first got him.” T’Mera gestured with her hand to return the communications display back to a smaller size and place it on the workstation surface. “The fact that he decided to take over the job of the person you killed is a gigantic cognitive leap for him.”

Lore scowled, creating creases in his forehead, “My two brothers get to wear a uniform, and I’m still in this stupid gold jumpsuit.”

“I don’t have a uniform either, Lore.” T’Mera pointed to her own teal jumpsuit. “Would you prefer the science one to engineering?”

“The color of the jumpsuit isn’t the point!” Lore grabbed his jumpsuit at the front fastener and tore it open. “Even the idiot prototype is getting more respect than I am! Data commands respect!” He kicked off his shoes, then stepped out of the pile of gold fabric at his feet. “I’m superior to both of them and what do I get? Suspicion, revulsion, hate and fear!” He folded his arms across his chest, now clad in just the black short-sleeve shirt and black midway briefs. 

T’Mera spoke in a calm manner, “A direct consequence of actions, Lore.”

Lieutenant D’Sora moved her hand to the modified tricorder at her side, then widened her eyes in shock at Lore’s display and subsequent stripping. She relaxed her arm, but kept her hand draped over her holster.

Data blinked in surprise at Lore’s outburst, then responded in a placid voice, “Lore, I did not start out with this much respect. It took me several years to attain it, and that was after spending three years undergoing testing to prove that I was a living, sentient being. I believe that the same is true of B-4. If he had not behaved in a manner that earned him some esteem and trust during the past months at the Daystrom Institute, I am certain they would not have him performing in a security position. While you claim to be superior, you do not seem to have the superior patience it takes to merit the kind of respect you wish to experience.”

“No, I suppose not.” Lore started to pace around the workstation and chaise. “With everything I’ve done, it’s going to be impossible to earn respect.” He made his way back to the punching bag, extended his left arm and placed his hand flat on the bag, using it to lean on. “I’m not even sure I had the Borgs’ true admiration, when I was trying to create the new world of artificial lifeforms.”

“How come you wanted to make a new world of artificial lifeforms, Lore?” T’Mera canted her head, studying the irate android.

Lore’s mouth opened to answer, but he hesitated in speaking. His eyes oscillated, then he shook his head, “I’m not sure. I just had the desire for it. It felt like my calling… my purpose.”

“Odd.” T’Mera turned back to the small displays with text on her workstation, “Data had a similar desire, but it took the form of wanting to build his own family. A biological wife and adopted child wouldn’t do.”

Lore drummed his fingers on the punching bag, “But he’s with you. You’re biological.”

“I used to be.” T’Mera bit her lower lip, “But I was dying, and I agreed to Data’s proposal to put my katra in an android body.” She tapped behind her left ear, opening a panel to show the sequential blinking lights and wires.

“You did to her what Father did to Juliana?” Lore fixed his gaze on his brother.

Data nodded, then explained, “The same synaptic scan technique was used. However, unlike Father, I asked for T’Mera’s permission and I did not hide the truth of her existence from her.”

Lore walked over to T’Mera’s side and peered at the open panel, “How long have you been able to build androids, Data?” He quickly added, “Approximate time is fine.”

“Fifteen years.” Data replied. “Although my first attempt was unsuccessful. My daughter, Lal, suffered cascade failure shortly after activation.”

“Was that before or after Often Wrong commandeered us and had us go to Terlina?” Lore resumed his circular pacing, this time around his brother.

“Lal was created before then.” Data remained still while Lore orbited him.

“Wouldn’t he have known that, if he kept up on your activities? He seemed to know you were a celebrity in cybernetics circles.” Lore furrowed his eyebrows in thought. “Yet, he didn’t seem to think of you as a cyberneticist.”

T’Mera closed the panel in her head, “Data might have run away if Soong had said “I often hoped you might become a mad scientist.” I also noticed when the two of you were relating the entirety of the family reunion that Soong’s personality and answers change drastically from when he’s alone with Data to when Lore arrives.”

Lore halted mid-pace, “I noticed that, as well.”

Data turned to face in Lore’s direction, “I am not that surprised, as he tended to change personality and identity when it suited him. However, in both cases, he was still circuitous in answering questions. I am not a counselor, Lore, but you may need to give up on the idea of gaining Doctor Soong’s approval in order to advance in your own life.”

“Did you give up on it?” Lore narrowed his eyes as he studied his brother.

“I never sought it.” Data reached out to place a hand on Lore’s shoulder, “I was already in my twenty-ninth year after activation, when Doctor Soong summoned me. We had no previous contact, nor had I found any of his hidden messages prior to that. I chose to do what I wished, and even after he related to me his disappointment in my lifestyle, I continued with it, rather than become what he wanted me to be. Since our father seemed to have forsaken you, I believe you are under no obligation to consider his wishes to be paramount.”

The deep-seated pain and anger welled up behind Lore’s yellow eyes, “And you’re going to help me, even after everything that’s happened?”

Data pressed his lips together in a pale, thin line, “Despite all that has transpired between us, the fact remains… You are still my brother.”

A poignant silence followed, immediately broken by a string of expletives uttered by T’Mera.

Lore burst into laughter, “I'm very impressed at your mastery of colorful language. You balance out my goody two shoes brother very well, T’Mera.”

Data removed his hand from Lore’s shoulder, “T'Mera only gets that colorful when something is very wrong. What is it, t'hy'la?”

“I ruined the moment, didn’t I? Sorry.” T’Mera swiveled in her chair to face the android brothers, “I think I found the answers as to what’s wrong with Lore.”


	15. Flaws and Findings

**Stardate: 58509.4**

 

The small round table in the detention area of Holodeck Four had been replaced with an exact replica of the table in the observation lounge off the bridge, with one chair at each head of the table and four on each side. 

Lore paced near T’Mera, “Maybe I can be seated near the people I haven’t previously tried to kill.”

T’Mera’s left eyebrow rose with amusement, “Should I be looking up the etiquette for seating arrangements with killer androids?” She studied Lore for a moment, “Do you want to be wearing clothes for this, or would you rather attend the meeting in your underwear?”

“It’s not as if I get cold.” Lore shrugged at the holographer, “You’re going to be exposing my programming, and my head’s already open, so underwear should be fine.” He pointed to the variety of monitors attached to the open ports in his cranial unit. 

“I guess we’ll wait to see where everyone sits.” T’Mera surveyed the table, then waved her left hand, creating a backdrop of windows looking out into the stars. 

“Maybe I’ll sit next to you.” Lore sidled up to T’Mera with a broad smirk on his lips.

T’Mera returned the smirk, “If you wish. It would probably put everyone at ease to have you sitting next to the one person who can take you down. I’m engineered to be able to stop Data if he’s on a rampage.”

The smirk vanished immediately from Lore’s face, “I can’t picture my timid brother on a rampage.”

“Ohhh, he’s been known to do so, on rare occasion.” T’Mera rubbed her chin as she stared at the curved table. “Ah. I have it. You can sit at the head of the table that’s opposite the Captain, with Data and I on either side of you.” She gestured with her left hand and glasses of water appeared at each place at the table. “Do you think you’ll be having any physical outbursts? I can move the punching bag near you.”

“I do have  _ some  _ self control, thank you.” Lore rolled his eyes and started to pace around the table.

T’Mera walked past Lore to the wall, reached into her mouth, pulled out a small wad of gum and dropped it into the recycler unit. “Is it acceptable to you if, when I’m reporting on my findings, I refer to you in the third person?”

“It’s fine.” Lore grumbled as he continued to circle around the meeting area.

The doors opened, and Commander Data entered the meeting area. “Good evening, t’hy’la. Good evening, Lore.” He stopped as he noticed the table. “An excellent reproduction of the observation lounge.” He resumed walking, until he reached T’Mera and drew her into an embrace and kiss. “My mental pathways are still unaccustomed to the absence of your sensory input patterns.” 

T’Mera returned the hug, not replying with words, but by extending the duration and intensity of the kiss.

Lore watched the couple with slight amusement, “In other words, you miss her, Data.”

“Is that not what I said?” Data responded to his brother as he and T’Mera concluded their greeting. “I simply said it sagaciously.”

“Grandiloquent verbosity is more like it.” Lore snorted, shaking his head. The sound of the doors opening drew his attention away from the amorous couple. “Ah. Hello, La Forge. Nice eyes. You grew facial hair, as well.”

Geordi grimaced as he entered the holodeck, “Hello, Lore. It’s been a while.”

Lore moved to stand behind the table, near the holographic windows, “Eleven years, although I didn’t experience the time passage. I never do, when I’m deactivated. It’s quite disconcerting.”

“Greetings, Geordi.” Data released T’Mera, “I am glad you are here. Before the meeting begins, I wanted you to see the connections that were repaired in Lore’s links.” He placed a hand on Lore’s shoulder, “It would be best if you are seated.”

Lore settled into the chair at the foot of the table. 

Geordi approached with caution, “Shouldn’t Lore be immobilized for the meeting?”

T’Mera walked to the chair on Lore’s left side, “Data and I will be seated on each side of him. Even if Lore somehow moves faster than us, he isn’t going to be faster than the photonics.” She leaned down to look into Lore’s face, “You’ll behave, right?”

Lore hissed in reply, through gritted teeth, “Yes. I don’t intend to do anything but listen and talk.”

Geordi joined Data directly behind Lore, then whistled through his teeth, “Whoa. Who did this?”

“A Mister Rylan at the Daystrom Institute.” Lore slouched in his seat. “Why is he even there, if this is the caliber of his work?”

T’Mera sat in the chair to place her eyes level to Lore’s, “He’s an excellent lecturer, believe it or not. He knows what he’s doing and describes it well. It’s just that something goes awry when he physically works on cybernetic equipment. It’s like his hands don’t get the information from his brain.”

“That’s not reassuring.” Lore frowned at the holographer. 

T’Mera reached out her right hand to place over Lore’s, “His mistake is what activated you prematurely. As far as I can figure, by crossing those connections, it bypassed the switch in your back. It also had another unexpected result, which I’ll get into during the meeting.”

Lore blinked in surprise and stared at the hand on top of his own. 

Geordi peered at the back of Lore’s head, “Well, we can repair this, once T’Mera gives us the green light. I hesitate to do it now, since I’m not sure how he’s running.”

T’Mera patted Lore’s hand then withdrew her own hand. “Neural nets will sometimes use alternate pathways when they need to. I’ll elaborate more, but right now, Lore is actually functioning via previously unused backup systems and pathways, and making use of some subroutines he hadn’t been able to until now.”

The holodeck doors opened, letting the rest of the Senior staff inside. Within minutes, everyone was seated at the curved table. Captain Picard gazed down the table at everyone. To his left, Counselor Veluna, Doctor Crusher, Geordi and Data took their seats, while Commander Worf and Security Chief Hagan sat in the two chairs to his right, near the simulated windows. 

Captain Picard fixed his eyes on T’Mera, “Now that we’re all assembled, let’s have the report, Doctor Chipman.”

“Thank you, Captain.” T’Mera leaned forward, placing her right hand on the lighted surface of the table. “Just to forewarn everyone, my findings include some pretty horrifying revelations, so I want to begin by talking about Doctor Noonian Soong. He was known as Earth's foremost robotics scientist, who then vanished after early experiments with positronic brains. He eventually travelled under an assumed name somewhere around 2326 to Omicron Theta to join the colony of scientists who were unable to work in reputable or ethical institutions.” She reached for her glass of water and took a quick sip.

“I want everyone here to stop thinking of Doctor Soong as Geppetto, if you had previously done so. He wasn’t. He was Victor Frankenstein, if anything. He was a deeply selfish and narcissistic individual who didn’t respect the sentience of his own creations, and whose actions in some cases have been irresponsible, negligent and criminal. You’ll understand as I work my way through what went wrong with Lore’s creation and upbringing.” T’Mera continued in her report.

“I’ll begin with the problems in a few physical components.” T’Mera gestured with her left hand and a small, floating camera lowered itself to be level with the back of Lore’s head. A display of the open connections in the back of the android’s head appeared over the middle of the table, “Lore was accidentally reactivated when these two lines were crossed.” A pointer appeared in the holographic display, indicating the areas. “Not only did this have the unexpected effect of waking Lore, but it skipped some parts of his startup sequence and caused the self-correcting mechanism to run long enough to reroute his subroutines and to transfer positronic matrix functions to alternative pathways. Then, it hit the original error and shut itself down, but Lore remained activated, and still using the alternate pathways, not his usual pathways.” She looked around the table, “Is everyone still with me?”

Commander Worf stared at Lore for a moment, then replied to T’Mera, “His activation this time was abnormal.”

Chief Hagan smiled faintly, “What he said. While I don’t understand the specifics, I get the gist of it.”

Captain Picard nodded to the holographer, “Please continue.”

T’Mera continued the report, “The rerouting is an extremely important issue, in this case. According to the decompiler logs, Lore’s system hadn’t been running either the self-correcting mechanism or the the ethics and moral subroutines prior to his current activation. Due to Mister Rylan’s technical errors, a small part of the morals subroutine is currently running in Lore’s system, with the functional part of the code working in the alternative pathway. Here’s where it gets crazy…”

Lore watched the image of his connections with horror, then turned his attention back to T’Mera’s face.

“I think I found the initial problems that caused Lore to be "evil", so to speak.” T’Mera changed the display to that of a text readout of complicated code. “His moral and ethics base programming is untouched and it's definitely Soong's source code. It's very close to what B-4 had, but Soong altered it slightly. That alteration had a fatal error in it. Lore  _ should _ have gone right into cascade failure after his first activation.”

Doctor Crusher’s expression softened from the angry glares she had been aiming at Lore, to one of curiosity. “Why didn’t he?”

“Because Lore’s self-correction program also has a fatal error in it. By itself, that should have cascaded him.” T’Mera used the pointer to indicate the lines of faulty code. “Together, however, the two fatal errors cancelled each other out by causing an early interrupt of both, and then Lore’s basic heuristic programming did a full bypass of the ethics subroutines and self-correction mechanism. Lore continued to function, but was amoral and without the mechanism to correct his errors. You can even see it in the neural net scan. For comparison purposes, this is Data’s neural net.” The display changed to a colorful 3D image of a neural net.

With another gesture of T’Mera’s left hand, a second neural net image appeared next to the first. “This one is Lore’s. Notice that Lore has less connectivity between the subcortical relays and the ventromedial prefrontal relays. What should be his amygdala is not functioning as it ought to.” She moved the pointers to highlight the pertinent areas.

Captain Picard studied the images, “Is that significant?”

Veluna spoke in her usual dulcet tone, “That’s extremely significant, Captain. Criminal psychopathy is associated with decreased connectivity between the amygdala and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. With low connectivity, the processing of negative stimuli from the amygdala doesn't translate into negative emotions. They won’t feel nervous or embarrassed when they’re caught doing something bad. They don’t feel sad when other people suffer. Though they feel physical pain, they are not themselves in a position to suffer from emotional hurts.”

Doctor Crusher added, “The ventral medial prefrontal cortex also plays a role in the inhibition of emotional responses, and in the process of decision making.” Her blue eyes focused on Lore at the foot of the table, “Psychopaths have difficulties following rules based on moral sensibility, despite fully understanding the rules.”

“So, we begin with an android whose moral subroutines and amygdala aren’t working, and who can’t inhibit his emotions, and whose decision-making is hindered. It gets even worse as we go on.” T’Mera bit her lower lip and changed to a different display.

Data winced and glanced to his left to watch his brother, “There is more?”

“I’m afraid so, Data.” T’Mera brought up a text readout, “B-4 was thankfully spared this part of creation. Lore and Data were not. Soong experimented with using synaptic scans, and put the scans of over four hundred colonists into his androids. At this point, I need to state that using multiple synaptic scans to create an amalgam personality in an artificial intelligence is a terrible idea, even if you have four hundred wonderful people’s scans. What Soong had access to was the synaptic scans of four hundred scientists, most of whom were known to be unethical, antisocial, self-absorbed and capable of petty actions towards their colleagues in the service of their own ambitions.”

Veluna grimaced, gazing at the androids at the foot of the table, “The most brilliant minds can often be the most unstable.”

T’Mera nodded to the counselor, “And what happens is that when you feed all that information into an artificial neural net, the neural net will immediately begin to search for the commonalities and patterns and then incorporate them. Since Lore was running with emotions and no morality, he must have focused on the emotional matches of the colonists. The arrogance, ambition, envy, and anger all became part of Lore.” 

T’Mera paused for a quick sip of water, “So, now you take an android whose moral and ethical subroutines and corrective mechanisms are broken and you’ve given him the strongest personality traits of four hundred brilliant assholes…” She added a soft aside, “... pardon the language…” then continued in her report, “Now it gets even worse. Lore was then activated and set loose among the colony, as if he were finished and functioning perfectly. He was never properly trained or socialized, aside from Doctor Soong telling Lore that he was superior to humans.”

Lore returned Data’s glance, then leaned back in the chair to watch the displays in misery.

“Given what Lore’s told me, so far, he was rejected and reviled by most of the colonists.” T’Mera tilted her head to look past the holographic display, “While I can repair the broken subroutines and components, Counselor Veluna will have to help Lore to heal from the psychological damage inflicted on him during his formative months.”

Geordi straightened in his seat, “But if Data has the same synaptic scans, why isn’t Data unstable?”

T’Mera gazed across the table to the Chief Engineer, “Doctor Soong’s answer to Lore’s instability was to remove Data’s ability to feel his emotions, so Data’s neural net focused on the scientific bits… the curiosity and the desire to learn and improve. It’s possible that Data might have been arrogant, as well. Data’s self-correcting mechanism didn’t contain the fatal error, and he overwrote his own moral and ethical subroutines based on Starfleet and the Federation. The final saving grace for Data was that his own memories of his time on the colony were completely wiped and he was raised by Starfleet. If Soong hadn’t done that, Data would carry the emotional baggage from his time on the colony. The blank slate allowed him to have a couple of decades of rewriting his own programming and slowly building his own personality with far better role models than Lore had.” She changed the display once more, “Back to Lore and Doctor Soong, though. It gets worse.”

Captain Picard watched the display, “What are we seeing now?”

“The so-called emotion chip’s source code.” T’Mera answered, moving the pointer to a line, “Data’s recount of installing the emotion chip always bothered me. Not just that Soong had so little respect for his own creations and hijacked them to come to his world, but the purpose of the emotion chip. He’d never bothered to check Data’s programming or progress. Yet he was able to make this chip that would supposedly work in Data?” She glanced sidelong at Lore, “I think I’ll put the punching bag next to you, for this revelation.” The bag appeared in the space between Lore and Data.

Lore folded his arms across his chest and leaned back in his seat, “Just because I’m a monster doesn’t mean I’ll go into an uncontrollable rage.”

“It’s just in case.” T’Mera gave Lore a small smile, then highlighted a couple of lines in the display, “Much of the code on the chip is nothing more than call functions that amplify the generated emotions of the positronic matrix. These two lines, however, are calls for the memories from the chip, which are under the directory named Foundation. Once it’s activated, the chip creates an imperative which overrides all other priorities.” She hesitated as she caught Data’s expression of dismay, “The chip is meant to force the android it’s slotted in to create a race of artificial lifeforms and to lead them.”

With the exception of T’Mera, all eyes were on Lore, who frowned and remained calmly seated. 

Data stood abruptly, knocking his chair backwards with a loud clatter to the floor. “What?!” He swung his left fist at the nearby punching bag, “Dammit!”

Lore jumped a bit in his chair, startled by his brother’s sudden outburst.

“Commander?” Captain Picard spoke to his second officer in the familiar, authoritative tone.

“Apologies, sir.” Data righted his chair and returned to his seated position. 

T’Mera waited for Data to get settled down, then elaborated, “I’m thinking that Soong kept tabs on Data and found out that he’d made Lal. That was why he chose that particular time to hijack Data to his lair on Terlina III. Calling it an emotion chip was most likely a carrot he knew Data wouldn’t refuse. Clever little Trojan.”

Lore began to laugh quietly, “But I stole the chip, because I’m an asshole and Often Wrong couldn’t tell us apart. Since I couldn’t make androids, I did the closest thing I could. I tried to turn the disconnected Borg into fully artificial lifeforms.”

T’Mera bit her lip, “And the emotional amplification of the chip made you even more unstable than before. I’m sorry, Lore.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for, T’Mera.” Lore averted his eyes and stared at the table’s surface. “Even if everyone here decides to put me to death, it was satisfying to find out what happened. Thank you for trying to help me.”

“Is all this supposed to excuse what Lore’s done?” Doctor Crusher sighed, then took a drink from her glass.

T’Mera shook her head, “Explain, not excuse, Doctor, although I can understand the confusion. Both words start with an ‘E’. I realize I seem like I’m being condescending, but trust me, I’m not. I’m also informationally armed, so beware of any judgements on Lore, right now. While Lore’s actions with the Borg are more like mind control, his actions prior to the emotion chip are his own.” She met the gaze of each person at the table, “My current purpose has been to find the underlying causes to Lore’s malfunctions and I’ve done so. Lore didn’t start out with his ‘evil’ toggle set to ON. The errors in his programming and components can be fixed. As for the psychological damage that’s been done, it would be up to Lore and Veluna. Those are my findings.”

Geordi took a sip from his glass of water, “Wait. If the emotion chip was supposed to force Data to go off and create a race of androids, why didn’t he do that after we put the emotion chip in him?”

Lore glanced warily at Data, then answered Geordi’s question, “In a fit of sibling rivalry, I removed the memories from the chip and kept them for myself.”

“The chip requires the memories for the imperative to be run.” T’Mera appended, “Without the Foundation directory, the emotion chip was simply an emotion amplifier.”

Data stared intently into Lore’s eyes, “Ironic. Your pernicious actions saved me from our father’s imperative.”

Lore stared back at his brother with equal intensity. “Do me a favor. Spend your next off-shift with T’Mera.” He turned to speak to Chief Hagan, “You can assign that Ensign Murphy to me, so T’Mera can have a break?”

Hagan blinked at Lore’s request, then nodded, “Of course. I can have them on the next alpha shift here.”

Captain Picard pushed his chair away from the table, “Thank you for the report, Doctor Chipman. I think it might be best for us to absorb the information before any decisions are made. Enjoy the rest of the evening, everyone.” He gave Counselor Veluna and Chief Hagan pointed looks, then stood up and walked out of the holodeck.

T’Mera gestured, returning the punching bag to its previous position, then walked around the table to Data’s side. “I’ll see you at alpha shift, then?”

Lore rose from his chair and shuffled his feet as he headed to the punching bag.

Data pulled T’Mera into an embrace, then kissed her. “Yes. I will go to our quarters at alpha shift.” He released her, then walked to the exit and out into the corridor.

Everyone except Doctor Crusher followed Captain Picard out of the holodeck. Beverly Crusher walked across the floor to stand a couple of meters away from Lore. 

Lore glanced at Doctor Crusher, “Your hair looks nice. It’s different from the last time I saw you.”

“You mean when you threatened to kill Wesley and then you set me on fire?” Doctor Crusher replied coldly.

Lore leaned against the bag, and the left side of his mouth quirked upwards, “That would be then, yes. Is there something I can do for you?”

“No.” Doctor Crusher answered as she studied his face, “I’m just trying to figure out what kind of trick you’re playing.”

“Do me a favor.” Lore turned so that his back was pushing against the punching bag, “If you figure out the trick, tell me what it is, because I don’t have the foggiest idea.”

Doctor Crusher let out a sigh, then spun on her heels and left the holodeck.

Once the doctor was gone, Lore turned his attention to T’Mera. He strolled to the chaise lounge, sat down on the cushion and watched the holographer for a moment. “Data’s keeping something from me. I could see it in his eyes.”

T’Mera stopped her work and glanced to her left at Lore. “Yes. There’s a promise we made to someone that we might have to break, in order to tell you.”

Lore leaned forward, resting his forearms on his knees, “Let me guess. It’s not something that will make me happy.”

T’Mera shook her head, “No. Definitely not.” She studied the android’s face for a moment, “I do have to say you comported yourself well during the meeting.”

“I had the right motivation.” Lore smirked as he stood up and turned to head to the punching bag, “No way in hell was I going to let that Klingon see me cry.”


	16. Respite and Hot Beverages

**Stardate: 58509.8**

 

Captain Picard handed cups of tea to Veluna and Chief Hagan, then sat to join them in the maroon chairs in his quarters. “I’m very interested in anything the two of you picked up from Lore. He’s been known to be deceptive and manipulative, so I want to make damned sure that this isn’t part of some scheme.” He reached for the cup on the table next to his chair.

“If there’s a scheme or ulterior motive, I haven’t found it.” Veluna lifted the cup to her lips, then blew across the surface of the hot liquid, “I sensed in him the same anger and bitterness that he’s had since I met him the other day. There were a few waves of sadness, but I think the most surprising reaction from him was when Doctor Chipman was speaking about the emotion chip.”

Chief Hagan nodded to the counselor, “I felt that, as well.” He took a quick sip of tea, “Upon hearing about it, he experienced… relief?” He glanced at Veluna.

“Yes.” Veluna confirmed the Betazoid’s statement. “As if a great weight was lifted from him. I’m more worried about Commander Data, really.”

Captain Picard frowned and set his cup of hot Earl Grey tea on the side table. “Data? You mean when he knocked over his chair?”

“When T’Mera spoke about the imperative in the chip, Data was overcome with anger and a feeling of betrayal.” Veluna leaned her back against the puffed cushion.

Chief Hagan concurred, adding, “In some ways, this is harder on the Commander than it is on Lore. I get the feeling that Lore knew Doctor Soong far better, and expected a certain amount of treachery from him. Data doesn’t have the same bitterness when he speaks about his creator. He’s becoming disillusioned.”

Captain Picard let out a long sigh as he picked up his tea cup, “I can’t say as I blame Data. To find out that the man he’s come to think of as his father had plans to use him in such a way... In addition to that, it’s not easy to face a duplicate of yourself who, by virtue of experience and circumstance, has taken a path of malice.” Picard’s steel blue eyes stared at some point on a distant horizon for a brief moment, “For now we see, in a mirror, darkly…” then found Veluna’s face, “T’Mera believes she can fix Lore’s programming, and given the results of her work with Data and B-4, I have no reason to doubt her. Veluna, how difficult will your part be?”

“Fairly difficult.” Veluna acknowledged with a sad frown, “I realize that he’s an android, but Lore is a near classic textbook example of the older child of someone with narcissistic personality disorder. It’s a longer term therapy, but it can be successful if Lore is willing to undergo change. It also depends upon how long you want him to be on the Enterprise.”

“That will depend upon Data and Lore.” Picard answered, after taking a sip of his tea. “If Lore continues to behave and shows willingness to be rehabilitated, we will continue to offer help. Counselor, I think the best course of action for now will be to have you continue the daily sessions with Lore for another week. I’d like to get a better idea of what he’s been through and his activities in the past, especially for the time in between his spacing and the emotion chip. Deni, when Lore specifically asked for Ensign Murphy to be posted and for T’Mera to be given a break, did you get any sense of duplicity or some sort of trick?”

Chief Hagan shook his head, “That was accompanied by a feeling of worry for Data. Lore may have said he came here to kill Data, but his underlying feelings exhibit a duality. While there’s a great deal of bitterness and sibling rivalry, Lore is also deeply concerned about Data’s well-being. It must be difficult for him to reconcile.”

Veluna smiled softly, “I felt the same emotions in him. I don’t think he’ll try to escape, if that’s what has you worried.”

Captain Picard remained silent, with a faraway look in his eyes. He sipped more of his tea, then spoke, “Very well. Assign Ensign Murphy to alpha shift duty in Holodeck Four. Counselor, continue Lore’s therapy as you see fit. Thank you both.”

Once the Security Chief and the Counselor had left his quarters, Captain Picard turned to look out the window at the starfield. His dispassionate expression transmuted to one of sadness and regret.

 

* * *

 

Geordi sat at one of the tables in the crew lounge of the Enterprise-E with both hands holding his mug as he stared at the off-white beverage until a soft voice interrupted his thoughts.

“You can’t sleep, either?” Beverly Crusher stood near the table, holding a mug of her own. “Mind if I join you?”

“Please, Doctor.” Geordi indicated the chair next to him, “I’m not feeling sleepy and it’s not from all the excitement of using shuttles to till soil on Omicron Theta.”

Crusher settled into the gray chair with a heavy sigh, “T’Mera’s making me feel like I’m the bad guy.” After a sip from her mug, she continued, “But she didn’t see Lore like I did. To see eyes that are the same as Data’s, only with a deranged sadism behind them.”

Geordi licked his lips, then focused his electric blue implants on the Doctor, “You’re assuming that Lore was acting friendly when she met him?”

Comprehension dawned in Crusher’s eyes. “Lore would have probably tried to kill her, as revenge on Data. I didn’t ask her about it. I was too busy remembering the past.”

“We all were, Doc.” Geordi replied with a grimace, “I know that when I was told about him being on board, my first reaction was sheer terror. It brought back everything that happened, like it was yesterday. Lying on that table, with Data putting nano-cortical fibers in my head...” He trailed off and shuddered.

“I remember being called on to put Lore together.” Crusher pursed her lips, “Chief Argyle needed my help, since working on Lore and Data was more like surgery on a human than it was like working on a machine. We didn’t know what we were doing and just did a side by side comparison of Data to Lore.” She placed her elbow on the table, leaned forward and rested her head against her fingers, “We could have spared everyone a lot of pain if we’d known he was malfunctioning... If we’d known to try to fix him before activating him. T’Mera has me second-guessing myself.”

Geordi frowned, “Don’t think too hard about it, Doc. I don’t think T’Mera is blaming us for the past. There’s no way we could have known, and even if we knew, nobody knew how they’re programmed. Like I said on the planet, Doctor Soong didn’t leave a note with Lore’s parts, warning anyone that Lore was maniacal. That would have saved us even more trouble.”

“What bothers me most of all, Geordi…” Crusher paused to drink, then continued, “I’m not sure I’ll accept him as fixed, even if she’s able to do the repairs. I was ready to dismiss any idea that he could be any different than he is, but everything T’Mera reported makes sense. I know she’s right, but my feelings can’t catch up.”

Geordi lifted the mug to his lips, savoring the liquid for a few moments, then replied, “I don’t think we have to change how we feel right now. As an engineer, I share the desire to fix something that’s broken, but it’s difficult when what’s broken seems like a person that’s done atrocious things. I don’t like to think of Data as a device, but it’s true that when some part of his programming breaks, it changes his behavior. The same would be true of Lore. So, the real question is… Do you think Lore is sentient?”

Crusher’s brows knitted as she looked back at La Forge, “I wish I didn’t, but yes, I think he is. That’s part of the problem. I once told Data that brothers forgive, but here I am, arguing that Lore doesn’t deserve a chance to be repaired and doesn’t deserve forgiveness. I’m showing Data the opposite of what I espoused.” She let out another sigh, “After what T’Mera said, I took the opportunity to look at the backgrounds of the Omicron Theta colonists. I’ve known people like them…  people like Toby Russell. Impatient, egotistical people who invest so much in their theories and research that they take shortcuts and endanger others. Scientists so desperate for results that they ignore the proper methods and throw away anything that doesn’t match what they want. People without ethical “programming”, in other words.”

“I guess what you should do is try to think of Lore as a human who was raised under those conditions and never taught right from wrong, and whose brain wasn’t able to figure it out.” Geordi leaned back in his chair, “And say there was a treatment that would make that person’s brain able to understand right from wrong. Would you deny them the treatment, just because of what they did when their mind wasn’t working right?”

Crusher stared into her mug for a few moments, then answered, “No. I wouldn’t.”

“I’m not saying I’m a big fan of Lore’s.” Geordi shook his head slowly, “But I’m interested to see if there’s going to be a difference in him and by how much.” He hesitated for a moment, “Is it that you don’t trust T’Mera? We’ve only known her a short time.”

“It’s not a matter of trust, Geordi.” Crusher replied in a quiet tone, “I do trust her. I guess I’m just afraid of Lore, plain and simple. It’s not easy to look into what seems like Data’s face and see anger and hate or that grotesque, mocking grin. Although, it has to be hard on T’Mera, too, to see all that in what looks like her lover’s face. Maybe what bothers me is that she seems so calm about the whole thing.”

“She’s part Vulcan.” Geordi smiled reassuringly to the doctor, “Calm comes with the territory, except when it’s horrible programming. Then, she’ll curse a blue streak at the responsible party. But, I can tell you that T’Mera’s probably also nervous about it, since she’s barely made any puns or jokes.”

Crusher drained the rest of her drink, then smiled back at Geordi, “I guess knowing that makes me feel better. Thank you, Geordi. I think I’ll be able to sleep. Make sure you do, too.” 

Geordi lifted his mug, “I’ll be heading to my quarters, soon. Goodnight, Doc.” He watched her leave the lounge, then returned to his own thoughts.

 

* * *

 

 

T’Mera glanced to her left, where Lore sat hunched over a small holovid display and console. “I’m regretting letting you have that. It seems like you’re obsessing over it.”

Lore pressed the console to pause the holovid playback of Arik Soong. “I’m trying to understand him. I’m trying to understand why I became the way I am. Why the “calling” that I felt was mine is his.” He fixed his yellow eyes on the holographer, “And I’m trying to understand how we resemble him so exactly, when we were created by someone who should be his great-grandson. Human DNA and inheritance is not  _ that _ exact.”

“That’s something for you and Data to talk about, I suppose.” T’Mera tilted her head to study the android’s face, “For me, he’s fairly easy to understand. He got it into his head that he was going to create a “perfect” human. When a person’s premise begins with an illogical idea, nothing good can come of it.”

Lore frowned and turned to directly face T’Mera, “It’s illogical to want to perfect something?”

“Yes, it is.” T’Mera answered, “Hop onto the logic train with me, Lore.”

Lore stood up with melodramatic flair, then mimed hopping onto something. “There. I’m on the logic train with you. Enlighten me.”

“Wanting to improve something that needs improvement is logical.” T’Mera stated, “But to become obsessed with the idea of perfection is illogical. While it’s simple to find out what can and should be improved upon, who can truly say what perfection is? More importantly, who is Arik Soong to decide what perfection is, and then force it upon everyone else?”

Lore frowned, lowering his chin, as his eyes oscillated a few times, “When you force someone else, you take away their choice, and removing someone’s choice makes you evil, no matter your intent.” He looked back at the paused holovid, “He stole those children, then hid them away and taught them that everyone else would fear them and try to destroy them because of their superiority.”

“Do you think that’s a good way to raise children?” T’Mera reached up to fiddle with the dangling gem on her choker.

“I don’t know anything about how to raise children.” Lore folded his arms across his chest and regarded T’Mera with a petulant expression, “But I suspect if I were to download all available literature on child rearing, none would recommend raising them like that.”

“It’s also not a good way to raise an artificial intelligence.” T’Mera offered in a soft tone, “Not to mention it’s patently untrue to tell augments and androids that everyone will hate and fear them and to harp on superiority. It’s very clear that Arik has no idea what humanity really is or what strengths are within us.”   


“But the truth is that I’m superior to humans!” Lore spat back at the holographer.

“So are Vulcans, in many ways. What’s your point?” T’Mera lifted her chin, looking up at the android expectantly.

“It’s…” Lore began, then stopped speaking. “My points have been refuted already. I was supposed to create a superior race of perfected humans, in this case all artificial, since the augments either killed each other or got killed because they threatened to start a war.” He pointed to the paused holovid, then returned T’Mera’s stare.

T’Mera nodded to Lore, “Exactly. Then, when you and Data were made, you did what…?”

Lore threw his hands up in the air at his sides and began to pace in a circle, “I did the exact same thing. I tried to kill my own brother and I keep getting dismantled and taken apart, because I threaten the biological life of the galaxy.”

“Whenever some people start believing they're superior over others, the results are always the same. Superior is not equivalent to better, nor does it mean more deserving.” T’Mera’s eyes followed the pacing android, “I’m not a counselor, Lore. I’m just helping you ride the logic train. It could be more helpful for you to discard the notions of superiority and purpose, and simply explore who you are and what you, as an individual, want out of life.” She waited a moment, then added, “You don’t have to know right this minute. You’ll be working it out with Veluna, most likely.”

Lore walked around to the punching bag, then gave it a firm push, “I can see why Starfleet appealed to Data. It’s a progression of service and it’s easy to understand. Meanwhile, B-4 is a custodian. Nice and simple. If something is dirty, clean it.”

T’Mera blinked in surprise, “B-4 isn’t a custodian.”

“That’s what he was doing when I met him.” Lore pulled his right fist back and then landed a solid punch on the bag. 

“He must have picked it up as a hobby.” T’Mera replied as she turned back to her display, “B-4 is at Daystrom in order for him to develop his neural net in a safe and controlled environment. A starship tends to encounter danger on a regular basis.”

Lore frowned and stood still, “Is he going to wind up like Data and myself?”

“Doubtful.” T’Mera tapped on one of the consoles by her, “The processors in his brain are nowhere near the same speed. With luck, he’ll get to the level of an average human, which isn’t bad for how he began and what happened to him. His brain has double the storage capacity of yours or Data’s, so he’ll be like a human who has excellent memory recall. You’re interested in him, now?”

Lore opened his mouth, hesitated, then let out a sigh, “I almost said no, but the truth is that he’s a brother I know almost nothing about, and he’s a surprise. Often Wrong told me that he made me perfect on his first attempt. I had no idea that there were prototypes. Meeting B-4 confused me. Now, I’m questioning everything Soong ever said to me.”

“You should.” T’Mera spoke in a reassuring voice, “I don’t think Doctor Soong was ever in the habit of telling the exact truth. It seems like there was always some padding or omission involved, or it would have to be spoken from a certain point of view in order to be true.”

Lore gritted his teeth in anger, “Oh, I’m well aware of Father’s little tricks. He’d say or do things to see how we’d react. Data, of course, hardly reacted, or he’d say “Curious.” to whatever happened.” His left fist hit the bag with a resounding thud, “I had emotions, so, lucky me, I’d emotionally react to whatever Father said or did, only to have him laugh about it afterwards.” He pointed to the bag, “I can’t even have his face put on this bag for me to punch, because it’s my own damned face.”

T’Mera winced at the confession, “I’m so sorry, Lore. Nobody should have to be put through that.”

“I don’t want or need your pity.” Lore kicked at the bag, which moved a centimeter and then swung back to its original position.

“Noted. I’ll try to adjust my sympathy accordingly.” T’Mera typed a bit on the console in front of her, then turned her head when the holodeck doors opened.

Ensign Murphy entered the main detention area and took their place with the two holographic guards, “Good morning, Doctor. I figured to start my shift early, so you have some time to get back to your quarters.”

T’Mera smiled at the ensign, “Thank you, Murphy. That was nice of you. I’ll just finish up here.” She turned to look at Lore, “I could put on a nice holovid for you and Ensign Murphy to watch, if you want. Something fun to distract you from Arik.”

Lore glowered at T’Mera in silence and continued another circle around the bag.

“On second thought, maybe this one isn’t a good one for you.” T’Mera finished her work and tapped a few more commands into her console. “Data had a hard time understanding it, since it contained a lot of old Earth humor and cultural references.”

The statement stopped Lore in his tracks, “Data couldn’t understand it?”

T’Mera gave a casual nod to the moody android, “Mmhm. You probably wouldn’t, either, so it’s best that I don’t set it to run for you.”

Lore stood akimbo, “I’m far superior to Data in my knowledge of human behavior and humor. Put the holovid on.”

T’Mera regarded Lore for a moment, “Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you to watch it and be confused by it like he was.”

With heavy footsteps, Lore made his way to the rolling chair, grabbed it, then sat backwards in it, resting his arms on the chair’s backrest. “Play it for me. I’ll understand it.”

T’Mera tapped another button and the detention area of the holodeck changed to a blue-lit tiered courtroom filled with aliens. As she passed Ensign Murphy, she whispered, “Enjoy the holovid. I’ll be back before beta shift, I’m sure.” Once Murphy nodded in acknowledgement, T’Mera exited the holodeck.

Lore glanced to the doors as the holographer vanished through them, then returned his attention to the holovid surrounding him.

 

_ “Dr. Jumba Jookiba-- lead scientist of Galaxy Defense Industries-- you stand before this council accused of illegal genetic experimentation. How do you plead?” _

_ “Not guilty!” _


	17. Bridging Gaps

Alpha shift arrived and Data handed off command to Worf, then headed back to the quarters he shared with T’Mera. Upon entering, Data immediately walked to the replicator. The orange tabby woke, jumped down from the nearby cat tree and padded over to stand expectantly behind Data.

“Feline supplement thirty-four.” Data spoke to the replicator, watched the food materialize, then placed the dish on the floor. He stroked the cat’s soft fur, “I hope you enjoy your meal, Spot.”

“Hello, Data. How was gamma shift?” T’Mera’s voice emanated from the bedroom.

Data finished tending to Spot and walked to the bedroom, “It was uneventful. The terraforming is coming along according to schedule. The underground bunker is slowly becoming more “homey”, as humans would say.” 

“I’m glad it’s all working as planned.” T’Mera moved to an area in Data’s line of sight.

Data’s eyebrows shot up a centimeter, and his eyes widened as he received visual input of her appearance. T’Mera wore a sheer full length dress that accentuated the contours of her body, especially her breasts. His romantic subroutines initiated and he swallowed, causing his synthetic Adam’s apple to move vertically along the front of his neck.

“I thought you might be feeling down in the dump, so I put this on, hoping it might cheer you up.” T’Mera let a seductive smile form on her lips and she sashayed towards Data.

Data’s voice wavered as he responded, “I am quite cheered up, now.” He moved to meet her, then wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies together. “I am also pleased to have this time alone with you, instead of having to see you in Holodeck Four.”

T’Mera rubbed her hands over Data’s back, “What would you like to do with this time alone?”

“I am uncertain.” Data relaxed into the embrace, “While I enjoy our time together, I am suspicious of Lore’s motives for wanting the two of us to spend this shift away from the holodeck. It means he is unsupervised.”

“Ensign Murphy is there.” T’Mera planted a quick kiss on Data’s lips, “The photonics are there, and even if Lore managed to get past all of them, I have the holodeck set to turn into a ship in a bottle. I know it might be hard for you to hear, but it could be that Lore cares about you and wants us to have this time.”

“He has done many things that do not strike me as caring.” Data muttered.

T’Mera placed a hand on each of Data’s cheeks, staring directly into his eyes, “I didn’t say Lore’s not three sandwiches and a basket short of a remote picnic… But somewhere amidst the mess of his neural network, you have a brother.”

Data smiled back at T’Mera, “Your idiosyncratic idiom is an endearing addition to my repository. Perhaps the problem is that I feel the need to convince myself that he does not care, so that I do not feel guilt for my part in what has happened to him.”

“Mmhm, Bright Eyes. You’re going to have to own your actions.” T’Mera moved her hands to his shoulders, “You might have to explore if you care about him, too.”

“I will need to get to know him.” Data leaned his head forward to touch foreheads with T’Mera, “Hopefully, once he is repaired, he will wish for us to get reacquainted without any sort of terrible schemes in the making.” He let out a sigh, “It also had never occurred to me that there would be a negative side to incorporating the colonist’s scans and memories into us.”

T’Mera rubbed her nose against Data’s, “That’s because you don’t know much about artificial intelligence.”

“But I happen to be an artificial intelligence.” Data replied with a nose rub of his own.

“So?” T’Mera gazed into the amber eyes across from hers, “You spent so much time devoted to studying humans and trying to become more human that you shirked most of your AI side, while also managing to convince yourself that you were further from humanity than was demonstrated. You never defined what it means to be an artificial sentient; Instead, you let others tell you what an android is and then you worked hard at not being one. By everyone’s behavioral definitions, Lore’s not an android.”

Data’s eyebrows rose with comprehension, “You are correct. I had not thought about it in those terms. There is an aphorism that androids do not lie. Yet, the first thing Lore did when we activated him was to lie about the order of our creation.” His eyes widened in alarm, “There was a boy we rescued who imitated me due to trauma, and I told him androids do not lie. By telling him that, I was lying to him.” He blinked back at T’Mera, “And I  _ do _ lie. I lied to the Borg Queen when I needed her to think she had my cooperation.”

T’Mera patted Data’s chest, “To be fair, androids don’t generally lie. The ones on Galor IV can’t lie. Quimby and other holograms can’t lie. You, Lore and B-4, since you have sentience and free will, you all have the choice to withhold the truth or outright lie. I’ve also seen you make attempts to do what’s called a “white lie”, in order to spare someone’s feelings. However, you are normally quite honest and candid.”

“Thank you, t’hy’la.” Data lifted his right hand, using his index finger to trace a line down T’Mera’s jaw to her chin, “Since I have been with you, your insight has caused me to undergo a perceptual paradigm shift.”

“Glad to be of service.” T’Mera waggled her eyebrows, “You like to say “To thine own self be true”, but you can’t do that until you figure out who thine own self is. Or, if we move to a different philosopher, it becomes “I am what I am, and that’s all what I am.””

The sides of Data’s mouth quirked upwards by half a centimeter, “Ah, yes, the famous devourer of spinacia oleracea.” The amusement in his eyes faded, “Are you happy with me, T’Mera? In a certain sense, you have become something that you were not.”

“I’m happy with you, even though I’m in an artificial body now. I feel like I’m still who I was, as far as my personality and mind are concerned. I’m still popular and working in my field. Can’t complain.” T’Mera reached up to run her fingers through Data’s hair, “Are you having second thoughts about it, after all these months?”

“Not for myself.” Data closed his eyes for a moment, “I worry that your quality of life suffers, now that you are no longer biological.”

T’Mera leveled her gaze into Data’s eyes, “You fell off the logic train, again. You’re overanalyzing. If you hadn’t put my katra in here, I’d be dead, and I don’t know what quality of anything I have while dead. I don’t regret the decision we made.”

“Nor do I, t’hy’la.” Data tightened his embrace on T’Mera, “I do not regret any of this. You complete me.” He lifted her up, then walked with her towards the bed, “I believe I have decided upon my preference of activity for the next hour.” 

T’Mera smiled up at Data as he set her on the bed, “Taluhk nash-veh k'dular. I cherish thee.” She traced her fingers down his uniform, along the fasteners, pulling them open. 

After being divested of all clothing, Data reciprocated, removed the sheer dress from T’Mera, and joined her on the bed to enjoy their time together.

 

* * *

 

“She tricked me into watching that.” Lore stuck his tongue into his cheek briefly, then glanced over at Ensign Murphy. “It’s for human children.”

“I don’t know about that. I enjoyed it and I’m not human or a child.” Murphy smiled back at the android. “You didn’t like it?”

Lore gritted his teeth at the ensign, “I suppose it could be said that I found it… diverting.” His voice took on a hint of satisfaction, “And I understood all of it, unlike my dear brother. I think I even figured out why she chose it. I’m supposed to be the little blue monster.”

Ensign Murphy moved back into position by the two holograms, “Are you lost?”

“I don’t think so.” Lore pushed the floor with his feet, moving the rolling chair while he remained seated, “I remember my creators and I know why I was created. The problem is that I’m unstable, according to Father. Aside from having been created by a scientist, I don’t have anything in common with the monster in the holovid.” He smirked, “I have more in common with the little girl.”

Ensign Murphy tapped their chin as they mulled it over, “I guess I could see that, too.”

Lore pushed the rolling chair out from under him, while simultaneously standing. He stalked over to where Murphy stood guard, “I wonder if that spit trick would work on the holograms?”

“You’re welcome to try it.” Murphy’s eyes crinkled with amusement.

Lore pressed his lips together, gathering up some of the fluid lubricant in his mouth, then leaned to the right and spit at the feet of one of the holograms. The photonic guards’ eyes followed the trajectory of the spit to the floor, but their bodies remained still. “Oh well. It was worth a try.”

Ensign Murphy folded their arms across their chest, “Are you planning on trying to escape?”

“Not so far.” Lore averted his eyes from the ensign, “I haven’t trusted anyone in a very long time. I don’t know why I’ve put my faith in this T’Mera. Or why I’m even talking to you. You’re guarding me. I’m dangerous.”

“I’m dangerous, too.” Murphy countered, “So, it’s natural that two dangerous individuals would talk to each other. As for your trust in T’Mera, she seems to engender that. I haven’t known her to betray anyone. Granted, I’ve only been stationed aboard the Enterprise for a few months, but word does get around on a ship like this.”

“What makes you so dangerous?” Lore eyed the ensign, then circled around them, “You said you’re not human and you also don’t eat or drink. Are you another type of android?”

“I’m a changeling, originally from the Gamma quadrant.” Murphy watched Lore circle. 

Lore stopped in front of Murphy, “I’ve never heard of changelings. I take it that some ships made it over there, or some of you made it here?”

Murphy’s eyebrows raised in surprise, “Initially, that’s what happened. Over the course of a couple of years, it turned into a full-blown war with just about everyone from three quadrants involved in it.”

A look of anguish crossed Lore’s face. “A full-blown, three quadrant war and I missed it?” He threw his hands up in the air with a shout, “I missed it!” He dropped his hands to his side, “Who won?”

“I suppose the Alpha and Beta quadrants won, although the costs were heavy. The Dominion surrendered.” Murphy replied to the android, “It’s the first war we ever lost.”

“Changelings were on the losing side?” Lore folded his arms across his chest and regarded Murphy. “How is it you’re in Starfleet, then?”

Murphy replied evenly, “I was one of four Founder changelings sent to Earth in 2372 to observe and possibly infiltrate the Federation government. I’d been a dissenter among the Great Link, and thought the war was a bad idea, but I agreed to go and gather information. While the other three remained near Starfleet Headquarters, I decided to travel around Earth and see what it was like. When the call came to return to the Gamma quadrant, I didn’t want to leave. I liked Earth and the Federation, and wanted to see even more. I took human form, wandered around the planet, and became a renegade changeling. After enough time had passed, I found someone willing to sponsor me in Starfleet.”

“They let you in, just like that?” Lore returned to pacing back and forth near Murphy.

Murphy followed Lore with their eyes as they spoke, “Not quite. I spent a couple of years proving myself to be genuine and after they were sure I wasn’t a threat, I was allowed to enter the academy. I graduated with honors, and this is my first posting. I’m sure they keep me under surveillance, though.”

“You were an enemy of the Federation and now you’re a junior commissioned Starfleet officer.” Lore snorted, then shook his head, “Humans are so sentimental and trusting. It’s a weakness.”

“Actually…” Murphy shook their head in response, “It’s one of many human peculiarities that I’ve decided to call a double-edged trait. It’s both a strength and a weakness. Yes, it can leave them open to betrayal and vulnerability, but it also allows them to create such diverse communities. Every species will generally protect its own. Many will come to the aid of a friend or an ally, and some species will help someone they do not yet know but are willing to gamble on whether they’re friendly or not. Humans are the only ones I have seen who will come to the aid of those they call enemy or put themselves in harm’s way to save an enemy. Or to befriend someone who was once an enemy.” 

Lore dropped his chin and stared at the floor, “I don’t know if that will count for me.”

“If they could manage to trust me, then there’s hope for you.” Murphy offered.

“You weren’t responsible for the deaths of hundreds.” Lore shot back with a scowl.

“No.” Murphy canted their head to the right, “The Dominion was responsible for a two year war that cost over a billion lives, destroyed countless cities, poisoned planets, decimated and destabilized governments and, in the process, nearly wiped my own people out.”

Lore’s yellow eyes widened as far as they could, “I can’t believe I missed all of that.”

Murphy studied the android for a moment, “At the risk of sounding indelicate, where were you all through the war? I wasn’t at the briefing about you. All I know is that I’m supposed to watch you and be careful around you.”

Lore frowned and folded his arms across his chest again, “Data shot me with a phaser, deactivated me, disassembled me, then had me locked in a secure vault on a remote planet in some sort of institute. I was there for the past eleven years.”

“Remind me never to make Commander Data angry…” Murphy mused.

“Don’t worry.” Lore reassured the changeling in a sardonic tone, “Data doesn’t do that to everyone. It’s a family dynamic.” He turned his attention to the direction of the opening door. “Speak of the devil. Hello, dear brother. I thought you were going to be with your lover.”

Data entered the detention area to join Lore, “I was, and we had an enjoyable time, thank you. T’Mera is currently attending to some communications and will be here once she is finished.” He addressed Murphy directly, “I trust all has been well here?”

Murphy nodded, “Quite peaceful, sir.” The ensign returned to their post near the two holograms to continue guard duty.

Data gave a single nod of his head to Ensign Murphy, then turned his attention back to his brother, “Is there anything we should discuss? I am not due back on duty until the next shift.”

“We could talk about whatever it is you’re not telling me.” Lore wandered over to the punching bag.

Data followed after his brother, “I am uncertain as to whether it would be better to inform you of the situation, or whether it would be worse.”

Lore poked at the bag as he began to circle it, “What’s the worst thing that’ll happen if I find out about whatever it is?”

Data hesitated, then replied, “You will become enraged and attempt to escape and enact revenge, thus losing your chance to be repaired by someone with the skill to do so.”

“You’re here… Picard is here…” Lore listed off as he paced the circle, “Just about everyone who was on Omicron Theta is dead… While Juliana didn’t help me much, she didn’t betray me, either… Who else could I possibly seek revenge --.” He halted, then stared at Data. “Father?” He gritted his teeth when Data opened his mouth slightly, but didn’t speak. “When he told me he was dying, he lied, didn’t he? Otherwise, why didn’t he mention it to you before I arrived, right? Why didn’t he tell you he was dying, instead of that whole exchange about immortality? He did it to get a reaction out of me and to keep me from leaving.”

“Not quite.” Data pressed his lips together with trepidation, “When we were speaking with him on Terlina III, his body was undergoing a rapid cellular deterioration, so it was not a full lie. Just one of omission.”

“The synaptic scan technique you mentioned.” Lore stomped over to stand face to face with Data, “He made Juliana an android when she was dying, and you made T’Mera into one. I didn’t even notice T’Mera was artificial until it was pointed out to me. He did it, didn’t he? For himself. That’s why his lab had android parts lying around.”

After a slight hesitation, Data nodded to his brother, “He had made himself an android body, but one that can pass for human, and he transferred his synaptic scans into it. I still believe it would be in your best interest to forswear any need for his approval and to avoid seeking him.”

“How, Data?” Lore threw his arms up in the air on each side, “To paraphrase T’Mera, I don’t have on and off toggles, except for the one in my back. How do I dismiss what my purpose should be? If I give up on Father’s dreams, then what’s the meaning of my existence?”

“That is a philosophical question that organic lifeforms have never been able to answer.” Data replied evenly, “Out of the three of us, you are the closest to being completely human, a point that you have often bragged about. It could be beneficial for you to think of yourself as similar to them in the sense that you might exist simply because you exist, and that any purpose you wish to have in life should be of your own making.”

Lore regarded Data for a moment, “What’s your purpose, then?”

“To learn, to grow, and to be happy.” Data responded with a slight smile, “I aspire to be better than I am, and to contribute to society in a positive manner.”

Lore snorted derisively, “That’s vague and there’s no concrete goal to it. How will you know when you’ve reached perfection?”

“Reaching perfection is not my goal.” Data moved closer to Lore and placed his left hand on Lore’s right shoulder, “When I first achieved sentience, I struggled with my attempts to emulate humans. There were times when it seemed as if I would never reach my goal, and I considered wiping my engrams and starting over. I finally reached an epiphany, when I realized that it does not matter if I ever reach that goal; It is the struggle which defines my life and allows me to grow. We must strive to be better than we are, even though we will never reach our ultimate goal. The effort yields its own rewards.”

“In other words…” Lore grumbled and turned away from his brother, “I have to change my way of thinking.”

“That is precisely why T’Mera suggested counseling.” Data moved around to place himself in Lore’s view. “Since she is attempting to preserve your personality and memories, alterations to your behavior will be done with psychology, rather than programming.”

Lore frowned and stared at the floor, then folded his arms across his chest, “I might still be an asshole, even after all that.”

“Yes, Lore, you might.” The left side of Data’s mouth lifted in amusement, “However, there are no laws in the Federation against being unpleasant. I would be eminently satisfied to have a brother who is an asshole, but not a homicidal sociopath.”

Silence ensued for a few minutes, until Lore broke it by speaking, “You do realize that this means Often Wrong was lying about meaning to fix me. If he’s still living, that means there’s been another eleven years he could have done it. How long have you known about him being alive?” He walked back over to the punching bag, striking it.

Data answered immediately, “Five months, one week, three days, nineteen hours, twelve minutes and thirty-two seconds.” He hung his head with a chastened expression, “I should have asked him to repair you, when we discovered he was still living. I was preoccupied with saving T’Mera at the time, and Father helped save her. I realize that I was negligent, but she means more to me than anything.”

“Saving T’Mera… Data, I do understand. I know it means nothing coming from me, but you made the right choice.” Lore turned to lean his back against the punching bag, “I’m not sure Father would have fixed me anyway, if you’d asked him, but like you said, it’s all aqueous matter under the suspended river crossing. Water under the bridge… water over the bridge…” He grimaced, “I think that bridge got washed out a long time ago.” 

“Perhaps, in time, you and I will build a new bridge.” Data pressed his lips together.

Lore smirked at his brother, “Who knows? Stranger things have happened.”

The holodeck doors opened again, letting T’Mera into the detention area. She lifted her right hand in the typical Vulcan salute, “Hello, Ensign Murphy.” then headed towards the android brothers.

Data turned to face T’Mera, “Is there any new information on the legal aspect of Lore’s situation?”

“Yes.” T’Mera held up her hand in the Vulcan greeting to Lore, then answered Data’s question, “They’re sending someone to come here and take Lore’s measure  before we start any repair work on Lore, and it’s more than just that… They want to begin with B-4. He’s going to have to be tested for sentience, and he’ll be interviewed by a board of inquiry at Galor IV.”

Data furrowed his brow in confusion, “B-4 has nothing to do with any of this. Why do they wish to interview him?”

T’Mera looked between the brothers, “You’re a known quantity, Data, and everything you’ve done is a matter of public record. Then there’s Lore and the things he’s done. You’re both diametrical. They want to interview B-4 as a possible way of determining what the baseline behavior for all three of you should be.”

“Poor B-4. Paying for what I’ve done. He probably hates me for this.” Lore folded his arms across his chest and lifted his right leg so that the sole of his right foot pressed against the punching bag. “That’s even more aqueous matter.” He fixed his intense gaze at Data, “We’re gonna need a bigger bridge.”


	18. B-4 Raises The Bar

**Stardate: 58517.9**

 

“You see an asteroid and make a wish… You think that carpe diem means seize the fish… All these silly things you do… they don’t matter cuz our love is true…” B-4 sang as he mopped part of the floor at the cybernetics office of the Daystrom Institute Annex on Galor IV.

Bruce Maddox put the finishing touches on a few reports, paying little attention to the musical android cleaning the room, but looked up from his work when the doors to the hallway opened and a vice admiral walked through them. Bruce stood at his desk, “Good afternoon, Admiral Haftel.”

“At ease.” Admiral Anthony Haftel walked over to Maddox’s desk, then stopped and frowned, looking at B-4.

“Maybe we ain’t done much learnin’, but it’s for you that I’m yearnin’...” B-4 spotted the admiral, let go of the mop, did a quick salute with his right hand to his forehead, then grabbed the falling mop handle in mid-air and continued cleaning the floor, “Take my hand and don’t you bother… cuz you and me, we got each other…”

“This is your idea of improvement, Maddox?” Admiral Haftel shook his head, then faced the man at the desk.

Maddox stood up, “He’s passed his most recent tests, Admiral. Intellectually and emotionally, he’s now equivalent to an eighteen year old human male. I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”

“He’s singing and mopping the floor.” Haftel pointed at the android, “Not to mention he’s wearing a hat indoors, when he shouldn’t even be cold. And what’s that in his pocket?”

Doctor Maddox let out a short sigh, then answered, “That’s his stuffed tribble. It’s his favorite toy.”

“All these aberrations don’t concern you?” Haftel’s clear blue eyes stared at Maddox with intensity.

“They aren’t aberrations, Admiral.” Maddox explained. “It’s not uncommon for a Soong-type android to have personality quirks and odd hobbies. Out of the three of them, B-4 is actually the most stable, in my opinion.”

“Have you been following controlled procedures?” Haftel folded his arms across his chest, regarding Maddox with a scowl.

“Of course, Admiral.” Maddox kept his voice even, “Doctor Chipman’s instructions are being followed to the letter. B-4 has been cared for, educated, and has been brought up in a very controlled environment, including your requirement for isolation from the general public.”

Admiral Haftel glanced at the singing android, then over at the dent in the wall, “Commander Data can be a very dangerous individual when he wants to be. The Lore android… well, I suppose I don’t have to remind you about what happened with that one.”

“No, you don’t.” Doctor Maddox replied, following the Admiral’s gaze. “In all fairness, there were two men from Starfleet Intelligence who were responsible for Lore’s escape. He didn’t just magically put himself back together, reactivate himself and open the vault. He’s also in Doctor Chipman’s custody, for the time being. B-4 isn’t much like them, Admiral. His processors are slower, since he’s a prototype. I never expected to get him back in working condition, much less to have him get to this level of development. He’s a bonus.”

“He’s what I’m here for.” Haftel turned his gaze back to Maddox, “It’s been decided that B-4 is going to be summoned to an informal hearing to determine his sentience and any possible dangers he might represent to the Federation.”

The singing abruptly stopped and B-4 remained still.

Admiral Haftel continued, “The board will consist of myself, you, Ferguson Davis and Aysu Elenon and will have Staff Captain Phillipa Louvois presiding, as she is also going to be the one presiding over the Lore case.” He lowered his voice, “Does the B-4 have emotions? I don’t want there to be any chance of cascade failure from an overwrought android.”

Doctor Maddox nodded in reply, “B-4 does have emotions, although I think he’s at a level that he should be able to handle the situation.”

B-4 placed the mop back in its holder in the pail, then walked over to stand at Maddox’s side. “What’s at stake in the situation?”

Admiral Haftel blinked in surprise, “Our conversation doesn’t concern you.”

B-4 raised an eyebrow, “Oh? I’m sorry. I didn’t realize there was someone else named B-4 anywhere. I guess this means I don’t have to worry about going to a hearing.”

Doctor Maddox placed a hand on B-4’s shoulder, “It’s an informal hearing. Nothing to worry about.”

Haftel rolled his eyes, “Why are these androids always so adversarial?”

“If you have a problem with one android, maybe it’s them. If you have a problem with all androids, maybe it’s you?” B-4 offered the admiral. “I wasn’t trying to be adversarial. I just want to know what’s going on, since your conversation was most definitely about me. I have questions.”

“What sort of questions?” Haftel centered his attention on the android near him.

B-4 began to rattle off the questions, “Will I be leaving this place? Will I be separated from Emily or can she come to the hearing with me? What are the possible outcomes of the hearing? Will I be deactivated because of it? What is going to happen at a hearing?”

Haftel’s expression seemed to soften, “There will be five people sitting down with you and asking you a variety of questions, B-4. It’ll be held here, so you don’t have to leave. Right now, you’re considered the property of Doctor Chipman. If you’re found to be sentient, then you’ll be declared a citizen of the United Federation of Planets. There are no plans to deactivate you, if you remain non-violent. If the hearing board allows it, Doctor Vanzanen can attend with you.”

B-4’s eyes oscillated slowly, then he nodded, “If no one is threatening Emily, I will not be violent. I also think I’m past the time of cascade failure. I thought the greatest dangers are within the first few formative months?”

“Generally, that is so.” The admiral replied to B-4. “So you won’t put up any fuss about attending the hearing, then?”

B-4 shook his head, “No fuss, then. Thank you for the information.” He turned to head back to the janitorial cart.

“B-4?” Haftel called to the android.

B-4 stopped walking and turned to look back at the admiral, “Yes?”

“Why are you mopping the floor?” Admiral Haftel seemed to study the android’s face.

B-4 pursed his lips, “Because Zome Rylan spilled his drink, again. He tends to be clumsy, so this is a common occurrence. I really don’t mind mopping and sweeping, but if he keeps calling me names, I swear I’m going to give him a parsteel necklace until he learns how to be nice.” He returned to the cart and resumed cleaning and singing. “We left for Risa in your freighter... The crystal chamber’s running dry... We blew a gasket on the warp drive... And now we have no way to fly…”

The admiral watched and listened for a moment, then told Maddox, “You’re right. It’s quite a change from how he was when he was found. He almost seems like a human.”

Doctor Maddox spoke quietly, despite knowing that B-4 could easily hear them, “You don’t have to worry about him. He’s definitely not an M-5 in the making.”

The doors from the lab whooshed open and Zome Rylan entered the office area. “Hello, Doctor Maddox… Admiral.” He gave a brief wave to B-4, “Hey, Dopey! Lecture’s over, so Emily’s on her way.”

B-4 placed the mop back in its holder, “What did you call me, Zome?”

“Dopey.” Zome answered, then followed with, “Oh, sorry. It means stupid… dumb… non-intelligent… I forgot about your limited vocabulary, B-slow.”

Exasperation spread across B-4’s face, “All right, that’s it.” He reached into his cart and pulled out a thick metal bar, “I warned you twenty-two times, and I think that suffices.”

Zome’s pink eyes went wide with panic, “Crap!” and he sprinted through the sliding doors leading to the main hallway.

B-4 sprinted for the same doors in a straight line, clearing desks with the casual ease of an accomplished hurdler. In a matter of seconds, he was gone.

Admiral Haftel stared in shock for a moment, then turned to Maddox, “Does that happen often?”

Maddox blinked in astonishment, then shook his head, “The name-calling is fairly common, but this is the first time B-4 has done more than ask Zome not to do it. It’s been going on since we got B-4 from Doctor Chipman.”

Admiral Haftel’s eyebrows knit together slightly, “Am I to understand that the android has endured five months of someone calling him derogatory names?”

“That’s correct, Admiral.” Maddox answered, “It’s part of the instructions we were given by Doctor Chipman. It’s actually an important part of development for an artificial neural net to learn how to handle suboptimal relationships and how to gauge the unacceptable behavior of humanoids.”

The admiral looked back at the doors, “He’s got the strength of ten men. He could kill that young man.”

Maddox rubbed his chin, “I doubt he’ll hurt Zome. He’s got the same ethical and moral programming that Commander Data has. I guess we’ll find out how dangerous he is in short form.”

B-4 returned to the office area, with both hands empty, the left side of his mouth turned up a slight bit and his eyelids very slightly lowered, then made his way back to the cart through the aisles between desks. He picked up the mop and started cleaning the next area, beginning another song, “Last night I took you home, and we began to hmmm mmm mmmm... You were such a hmmmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm hmmm only seventeen… Mmm Hmm mmm pick up the soap... ”

Emily Vanzanen entered the offices from the lab area, “Oh! Admiral Haftel! Hello.” She raised an eyebrow, “B-4, I thought I told you that song is a bit too bawdy for the office?”

B-4 beamed at Emily, his lips forming a full, toothy smile, “But Emily, how can that be, when the majority of the words are a hum? It is intriguing to me that humans will use their imagination to fill in the omitted parts of the song with dirty lyrics. The nuances of nonverbal communication are quite entertaining.”

“Fine, B-4. Have it your way. I have a dirty mind.” Emily walked to her desk and placed her lecture materials in one of the drawers. “I wish I were more creative, so I could get back at T’Mera for teaching you that song.”

Admiral Haftel shook his head in amusement, “Speaking of Doctor Chipman, why isn’t she the one overseeing B-4?”

Maddox placed his hands behind him, to lean on his desk, “At the time, she was dying, and it wasn’t certain whether Commander Data would be able to transfer her consciousness into an android body. He succeeded, but now they’re both on the Enterprise. Everyone involved felt it was in B-4’s best interests to remain here, rather than join them on the flagship.”

“What’s her purpose on the Enterprise?” Haftel frowned in confusion.

B-4 spoke up, “Data loves her and she loves him. I don’t mind being here, instead of with them.”

Admiral Haftel raised an eyebrow, “Androids can fall in love?”

Doctor Maddox nodded, “Data fell head over heels in love. The Soong-type androids are capable of it. Doctor Chipman has every confidence in Doctor Vanzanen and this office, as far as raising B-4 is concerned.”

B-4’s expression turned to worry, “Am I going to get in trouble at the hearing because I just did something bad?”

Emily stood upright, “What hearing? And what did you do that was bad, B-4?”

B-4 winced, then hung his head, “I wrapped a bar of parsteel around Zome’s neck, after he called me Dopey. It won’t hurt him. It’ll just be inconvenient until he either apologizes to me or has the other androids remove it.”

Emily widened her eyes, “Can the other ones remove it?”

B-4 shrugged noncommittally, “I don’t know, but I guess we’ll find out.”

Admiral Haftel answered the android’s question, “No, B-4, you won’t get in trouble for a prank here at the office. That falls under Doctor Maddox’s authority. The hearing is to learn more about you.”

Emily pressed her lips together, “You lost your temper, but it could have been worse.”

“I know what I did was wrong.” B-4 remained contrite, “I won’t do it again. How come he never learns not to call me names? Is there no way to change aberrant human programming?”

“It’s called cognitive behavioral therapy, B-4.” Emily replied and bent slightly to look up at his face, “That’s a good idea. We’ll send him to therapy.”

B-4 lifted his head, “Then I will control myself.” He eyed Emily, then asked, “Are you going to take away my holostation time?”

Emily rubbed her chin as if deliberating, “Hmmm. Well, you know you did something wrong…” She looked over at B-4, who managed to look repentant, “You seem to regret losing your temper…” Golden eyes stared back at her with anticipation. “I guess I don’t have to punish you, but don’t let it happen again.”

B-4 nodded happily, “I won’t do it again. Thank you, Emily.”

Admiral Haftel continued speaking to Maddox, “The arrangements are made to have the hearing partially holographic, because Captain Louvois is on her way to rendezvous with the Enterprise. I’ll let you know the day and time.”

Maddox acknowledged the admiral with a nod of his head, “All right, sir. We’ll have B-4 ready when he’s needed.”

The admiral turned and walked through the doors leading to the hallway, dodging to the right as Zome Rylan returned.

The doors shut behind Zome, and he continued to his desk. “B-4, I’m calling a truce.”

B-4’s eyes oscillated a few times, then he replied, “Okay.” He turned back to Emily, “Can I go play in the holostation, now?”

Emily patted B-4’s back, “Go ahead. I’ll come get you later.”

B-4 opened one of the drawers in Emily’s desk and sorted through the isolinear rods, then grabbed one. “Adventures of Star Rider!” He grinned and departed with all due speed through the doors to the south hallway.

Doctor Maddox watched the scene with amusement, “He’s definitely a teenager.”

“Speaking of that…” Zome Rylan rubbed his neck and furrowed his eyebrows, “I’m done with the bad example stuff. It took _two_ of the other androids to get that bar unwrapped.”

Maddox sat down in his chair, “B-4’s probably developed enough not to need it anymore, but I’ll double-check with T’Mera. If she says he still needs it, we’ll get someone else to do it. I think you’ve played the part long enough.”

Zome sat down at his desk and started his own work, “He’s developed pretty fast. Soon, B-4 will be grown and fly the nest. I bet you’re looking forward to that day, Emily. All that free time, and you’ll get your quarters back to yourself.”

Emily felt her breath catch, followed by a wave of melancholy. She responded with a mirthless chuckle, “Oh. Yes. I’m looking forward to it.” She let the words trail off, then stared at her display for a while, until the feeling passed.


	19. B-4 Expects The Inquisition

**Stardate 58523.9**

Daystrom Annex on Galor IV

 

Emily smoothed the lapels on B-4’s navy blazer, then straightened the band collar of the shirt underneath, “You look so handsome, B-4. Why don’t you let me hold your hat, so you look more presentable and serious?”

B-4 reached up with reluctance and removed his red knit cap, “Lack of a hat makes me seem more serious?” He held the cherished head-covering out to Emily.

Emily took the hat and stuffed it into her suit pocket. “Well, I’m not sure what they want, but they might be put off if you’re too eccentric.” She raked her fingers through B-4’s hair in an attempt to tame the unkempt locks.

“Emily?” B-4’s soulful yellow eyes searched the software engineer’s face, “Do you believe I’m alive and sentient?”

Emily placed a hand on each of the android’s shoulders, “B-4, I don’t just believe it. I _know_ it. Even if everyone on that board thinks you aren’t, all that means is that they’re all wrong.”

The statement brought a smile to B-4’s face, “Even if you’re the only one who thinks I’m alive, it’s enough. Thank you, Emily.”

“You’re welcome, B-4.” Emily brushed her hands from his shoulders down his sides to his waist, “Do you want me to hold Toto for you?”

“No, Toto is coming with me. I’ll keep him in my pocket.” B-4 stuck his left hand into his left side blazer pocket, feeling the familiar fake fur of the stuffed tribble. “I wish they would let you come in with me.”

“I wish I could come in so I could support you, too.” Emily raked her fingers through his unkempt chestnut hair in an attempt to style it, “But I think they want to make sure I’m not feeding you the answers.”

“I can feed myself the answers.” B-4 quipped. “I’m a big android who can use a spoon.”

Emily chuckled softly, “Come here for a good luck kiss.”

B-4 bent down to level his lips to hers, “Ooh, a new type of kiss! I like the hearing, already.”

Emily planted a quick kiss on B-4’s pale lips, then pressed the panel on the wall. “Good luck, B-4.”

The doors to holostation two opened and B-4 stepped through them. The interior of the holostation was set for the hearing. A table in the center of the room had two angled sides, with two people sitting behind it on each side. He recognized Doctor Maddox and Admiral Haftel on the left side of the table, but not the men on the right side. There was a red-haired woman seated in the middle.

The red-haired woman blinked in shock at the android, “Are you B-4?”

B-4 tilted his head to the left inquisitively then nodded to the woman, “Yes. I’m B-4.”

The woman pointed to a chair situated two meters from the center of the table, “Please have a seat, B-4. I’m Captain Phillipa Louvois, and I’m from the judge advocate general’s office, assigned to the case.”

B-4 complied, walked over to the chair, and sat down to face the people at the table.

“Good morning, everyone.” Captain Louvois began to speak. “This is Staff Captain Phillipa Louvois calling for the record, the case of B-4 versus the United Federation of Planets, under docket number 35-0918. If all present would please state their names for the record, in order from my right to my left.”

Maddox spoke up first, “I’m Captain Bruce Maddox, Chair of Robotics at the Cybernetics Division of the Daystrom Institute.”

“I’m Vice Admiral Anthony Haftel, head of the cybernetics division of Starfleet Research.” Admiral Haftel spoke succinctly.

The man with orange-tinted skin and ridges in his forehead spoke next, “I am Doctor Aysu Elenon, associate chair of software engineering at Daystrom Institute, Earth, San Francisco Annex.” A box and a few assorted objects lay on the table in front of Elenon.

The white-haired, darker skinned man spoke last, “I’m Ferguson Davis, senior advisor to Starfleet Research, Artificial Intelligence division.”

B-4 gave a slight smile to each person as they spoke, then noticed everyone staring back expectantly. “I am B-4, a Proof of Principle prototype for the positronic series of androids created by Doctor Noonian Soong. I am originally from Omicron Theta.”

Louvois announced, “This hearing convened on stardate 58523.9 is to determine the legal status of the android known as B-4, and to determine the level of danger it represents to the Federation.” She paused, then addressed B-4 directly, “B-4, you are an android, correct?”

B-4 nodded, “Yes, although I prefer the term artificial person.”

“But you are mechanical, with no organic parts?” Louvois asked.

“That is correct.” B-4 replied, then stuck his left hand in his left blazer pocket.

Louvois turned her head and addressed Doctor Elenon, “You may proceed.”

Doctor Elenon picked up a square object from the table in front of him, stood up and walked over to B-4. He held out the object to the android, “Please hold this in front of you vertically and tell me what you see.”

B-4 took the object, identified it as a mirror, then held it up in front of himself, “My reflection in a hand mirror.” He winced, “I should have combed my hair.” He held the mirror out to Doctor Elenon.

Doctor Elenon took the mirror, then walked to the table and placed the mirror down. He grabbed what seemed to be a deck of cards from the box and turned back to B-4. He held up the first card, “What do you see?”

“You are holding a red card.” B-4 answered.

“Tell me about red.” Doctor Elenon asked, then waited.

“Red is my favorite color.” B-4 smiled, “A happy and vibrant color.” His expression changed to a solemn one, “Scientifically, red is the color at the longer-wavelengths end of the spectrum of visible light, and in light has a wavelength of six hundred and twenty to seven hundred and forty nanometers. That is a more boring answer, but is also truthful.”

“How do you feel, B-4?” Doctor Elenon put the card back in the deck.

B-4 glanced at the others, then back at Elenon, “Nervous.”

“Why are you nervous?” Doctor Elenon picked out another card.

“I’m nervous because there are many people staring at me and judging me.” B-4 replied, paying rapt attention to the next card.

Doctor Elenon showed the android a card with a picture of a woman embracing a child currently seated in her lap. “What do you think is happening in this picture?”

B-4 studied the picture for a moment, “The woman loves that child and is caring for her. It could be the child’s mother.”

Doctor Elenon raised an eyebrow, “B-4, are you a machine?”

B-4 frowned slightly, “That’s an odd question to ask. The definition of the word ‘machine’ includes a broad range of mechanisms, apparatuses and even includes organic life. I could be considered a machine, in some ways.”

“I’ll rephrase the question.” Doctor Elenon replied, “You are completely mechanical?”

“That is correct.” B-4 answered.

Doctor Elenon studied the android’s facial expression, “What makes you look at this picture and extrapolate love from it?”

B-4 tilted his head to the left, “When you have love or affection for someone, you hold them close. The child is sitting on the woman, which is very close. Even if it is not her own progeny or a relative, she is giving care and comfort. Her arms are around the child, encircling it.”

Ferguson Davis snorted, then interrupted the proceeding, “Are we really going to waste all our time with this?”

Phillipa Louvois’ eyebrows knitted together, “Mister Davis, I will warn you not to disrupt the proceedings.”

Davis shook his head, “Obviously, the B-4 is an incredible simulation, and the programming is a work of genius, but that’s all it is… a simulation. It can recognize love on a picture card because it’s programmed to recognize it. I’m sorry, Doctor Elenon, but I see no evidence of actual sentience here.”

Before any of the others at the table could speak, B-4 asserted himself, “Captain Louvois, may I please address Mister Davis?”

Louvois raised her eyebrows, then nodded, “The record will now show that B-4 is addressing the board.”

B-4 directed his attention to Ferguson Davis, “It seems to be your intention that, even if I pass the sentience tests, you’re going to claim that I’m just a clever simulation. Do you comprehend how difficult it is for me to have to prove that I’m alive and conscious? You’ve never had to prove you’re alive, right? How would you do so? How would you persuade someone who didn’t believe you are a sentient being?”

B-4 stood up and began to pace within the small area by the table, “What makes _you_ the default of sentience? The fact that your programming is done through randomly generated DNA patterns that are mixed from your parents, instead of someone painstakingly designing each function? That your actions are initially governed by electrochemical reactions instead of a conclusion derived by heuristic algorithms?” He looked at each person at the table in turn, “Do you even realize what you are? You all think of me as a machine and you saw Data that way, didn’t you? What if our places were reversed, and it was _you_ sitting in this chair, being judged by mechanical people? How would _you_ feel, to be told that you’re nothing but a walking bag of watery meat and bones, and that your feelings aren’t real because they’re only caused by brief electrical impulses in an object in your skull that’s comprised of mostly fat and water?”

B-4 spun on his heels to face Ferguson Davis again, “How do I prove to meat robots that I’m alive and that I feel and think and desire? What would possibly convince someone who has made up their mind that anything mechanical or artificial is automatically non-sentient? You could compare me to the other androids here. If you trip one of them, and if they fall, they just get up and go about their business, correct? If you call them a name, they either ignore you or they’ll tell you they aren’t programmed to respond to that. If you say or do anything unexpected, they crash. I don’t.”

Davis leaned back in his chair, with his arms folded across his chest, “I don’t know…”

Maddox spoke up, “This is true. Just the other day, Mister Rylan called B-4 stupid and B-4 proceeded to bend a parsteel rod around his neck like a collar. He refused to remove it until Mister Rylan apologized.”

Davis frowned, “That’s rather dangerous behavior.”

B-4 extended his right arm, pointing his index finger at Davis, “You can argue that I was wrong to do that, and it was bad of me to lose my temper, but if you do, then you have to admit that I have feelings that can be hurt.” He brought his hand back to point the index finger directly into the center of his own chest, “I don’t have anything in my programming that calls for bending parsteel around someone. I improvised that in anger, after withstanding months of him calling me names, even when I asked him not to. How come nobody questions _his_ sentience?” He dropped his arm to his side, and addressed Captain Louvois, “Unlike my brothers, there are no synaptic scans forming the base personality of who I am. I am self-programming. I watch, I learn, I adapt, I create. I’m as alive as any of you.” He returned to the chair and sat down, “That is all I have to say about that, thank you.”

Louvois gave a nod of acknowledgement to B-4, then said, “If there are no further objections, the sentience testing will continue as planned.”

Ferguson Davis remained quiet, looking fairly displeased.

Doctor Elenon pulled out a new card. The first panel showed a surprised-looking woman colliding with a surprised-looking man, and the second panel had the man on the floor, clutching his ankle and crying. “What do you see in the pictures?”

B-4 studied the card, then answered, “A man and woman did not see each other and bumped together. The man fell and hurt his ankle. I can’t tell whether it’s sprained or broken from the drawing.”

Doctor Elenon put the card back and pulled out another one. “And this?” The first panel had the same images, but the woman’s facial expression had changed to lowered eyebrows and a smile with gritted teeth.

B-4 tilted his head as he observed the card, “The woman bumped into the man and pushed him on purpose to hurt him. I don’t know why she wanted to hurt him. Perhaps she is mean, like Zome, or maybe he did something to her and she is getting revenge.”

Doctor Elenon showed no reaction, then put the cards back in the box. He pulled out a container that measured twenty centimeters long, five centimeters wide and four centimeters deep. The word ‘Stylus’ was written on the container. “B-4, what would you expect to be in this box?”

B-4 regarded the container with interest, “I would assume it contains a writing stylus.”

Doctor Elenon opened the container, showing the contents; Several small wooden blocks were fitted inside. He closed the container. B-4, if I show this to someone who wasn’t here to see its contents, what will they think is inside the box?”

B-4 snickered, “They will think it holds a stylus.”

Doctor Elenon moved back to the table and placed the container inside the bigger box. “For the next part, the faces of everyone else in the room will be hidden from you, B-4.” The holosuite created a one-way opaque barrier between the android and the people seated at the table. “Can you see anyone’s face, B-4?”

“No.” B-4 answered.

Doctor Elenon continued, “I am going to play a short musical piece for you. Your task is to sit and listen to it.” Within seconds, Chopin’s Prelude, Opus 28, Number 4 began to play.

B-4 listened as the piano music played. Around one minute and twelve seconds into the piece, his facial expression changed from solemn to sorrowful, and a watery sheen covered both of his eyes. Thirty seconds later, a tear formed in B-4’s right eye and traveled down his cheek. He lifted his right hand, wiping at his eyes.

Once the music had finished, Doctor Elenon’s voice emerged from the darkness, “B-4, had you heard that musical piece before?”

“No.” B-4 replied with a slight warble to his voice.

“How do you feel, B-4?” Elenon’s voice asked.

B-4 rubbed at his eyes a final time. “Sad.”

“B-4.” The doctor’s voice instructed, “Please try to describe sadness without referencing any other emotional state. Imagine that you are trying to explain sadness to a computer that has no feelings to compare to.”

B-4’s eyebrows knitted together and his lips pursed, “... this test is _hard_ …” He smacked his lips a few times, then replied, “I would describe sadness to the computer as… All processes are slowed. Malfunctions occur. Existence is in disrepair. An empty sector that cannot be filled, yet cannot be bypassed. There is a power drain and faster calculations cannot be completed.”

“Thank you, B-4. That is sufficient.” The doctor’s voice stated. “We will remove the opaque barrier, now.” The darkness around the table disappeared and the five people sitting behind it became visible.

B-4 glanced at each person, then rested his gaze on a particularly miserable-looking Ferguson Davis.

Phillipa Louvois spoke in a firm voice, “Doctor Elenon, are there any more tests you wish to conduct on B-4?”

Doctor Elenon shook his head, “No, your honor. I now defer to Doctor Maddox.”

Louvois nodded, then turned her head to look at Maddox, “The record will show that Captain Maddox will now submit his evidence.”

Maddox tapped on a PADD by his place, “If you will all look at your displays, these are the results of B-4’s Chipman Test. He scored six out of six. In his time here at Galor IV, he has shown no signs of dangerous behavior. B-4 is not considered to be a threat.”

B-4 hung his head, averting his gaze from the people at the table.

Ferguson Davis studied the display in front of him, then looked across at Maddox, “Doctor Maddox, I’m confused. You were the sole member of the Starfleet Academy entrance committee who insisted that the android, Data, wasn’t sentient. Twenty-four years later, you convened a hearing and tried to prove that he was Starfleet’s property. What’s changed your mind about these things?”

“That hearing is what changed my mind, Mister Davis.” Maddox responded to Davis, “Do you know how much I regret what I did? I take solace in the fact that none of my actions impacted Commander Data in a detrimental way. After the hearing, Data sent me regular updates on events in his life and his thoughts and perceptions. I got to know the man that he is, instead of seeing the machine that I’d convinced myself he was. With Data, seeing the person inside him was more difficult, since he acted in the absence of emotions.”

Maddox paused, pressing his lips together briefly, “When I think of how I was behaving back then, I’m ashamed of myself. I first met Data, during his application to Starfleet, and I became obsessed with his design, to the point that I let myself be blinded to the fact that he had a consciousness. I was much like you, Mister Davis. So certain that anything mechanical and artificially created could never be alive. What kind of a scientist does that make me, if I refuse to see the empirical evidence that sits before me? What kind of a scientist places more importance on getting the results he wants, and ignores any facts that don’t fit those results? I was so intent on duplicating Data, but how could I ever hope to, if I never faced the truth of who and what he is? That hearing changed _my_ life more than it changed Data’s.”

Maddox gestured to B-4, “When we first got B-4, in 2380, he was very rudimentary and simple, but he showed signs of emotion and sentience. His first words upon activation were “Where am I?”” He turned his gaze back on Davis, “B-4 was concerned with his situation, and worried about his fate, even though he could barely comprehend what was happening to him. I wronged Commander Data, treated him with disrespect and nearly cost him his life and his freedom. The best way I can think of to make amends to Data is to ensure that B-4 isn’t treated the same way. He passes the tests, Mister Davis. Whether or not you dislike androids, B-4 is sentient. This concludes my evidence.”

“I’m confused.” B-4 looked at Louvois. “May I ask another question?”

Louvois nodded, then spoke, “The board acknowledges a question from B-4. Go ahead.”

B-4 tilted his head as he regarded the people on the board of inquiry, “Are rights in the Federation a finite quantity?”

Louvois answered the question, “No, they’re not finite. Why would you think they are?”

“Because.” B-4 glanced at each person in turn, “Mister Davis is acting as if us having rights means that it removes some of his or that it injures him in some way. As if it is an apple pie and if I get a slice, he gets less of a slice. Thank you.”

Ferguson Davis scowled and stared at the surface of the table in front of him.

Louvois turned her head to address Admiral Haftel, “Admiral, do you have anything to add to the proceedings?”

Haftel’s blue eyes held an echo of remorse, “I think all the evidence and testing, plus this interview with the subject, speaks for itself. B-4 is a conscious, sentient being, in my opinion, and represents no real danger to the Federation.”

Louvois set her blue eyes on the man to her far left, “The record will now show that Mister Ferguson Davis will speak.”

Davis cleared his throat, “As most of you are aware, in the 2378 decision of  EMH Mark One “Joe Zimmerman” versus the United Federation of Planets, it was ruled that a seemingly sentient hologram is still not entitled to the status of personhood, although they can be considered an artist, for the purposes of creative control over their works. Prior to that, the sentient EMH holograms from starships were put to work as menial laborers. I have been instrumental in setting a precedent of ignoring the sentience in our artificial creations and condemning them to servitude.”

Davis paused, then stared at B-4, “I consider myself an expert in the programming of artificial intelligence and neural networks, but even I would be unable to predict every variable needed to make B-4 behave in the manner that he has during this interview.” A smile graced his lips for the first time since the start of the hearing, “However, it was not B-4’s emotion that swayed me. It was his logic. You’re right, B-4. I’ve been acting like I think that allowing sentient AI to have rights means I have less of them.” He turned to regard Louvois, “Your honor, I concede the sentience and personhood of the Soong-type androids.”

Louvois nodded, then spoke, “It is the ruling of this board, having interviewed the subject, and having been presented with the evidence, that the Soong-type android, B-4, is sentient, and thus not property. He is to be considered a citizen of the United Federation of Planets, as his origin is from a Federation colony. This hearing is concluded.”

Doctor Elenon stood, gathered up his box of objects and left the holostation.

Ferguson Davis dipped his head to Captain Louvois, then also exited out into the hallway.

Louvois gestured to the android, “B-4, may I speak with you for a moment?”

B-4 stood up, waved to Admiral Haftel and Doctor Maddox as they left, then walked over to the center of the table, “You wanted to speak with me.”

Louvois smiled at B-4, “It’s amazing. Your likeness to Commander Data is remarkable.”

“The three of us are virtually identical in physical appearance.” B-4 explained.

“I noticed that you had your hand in your pocket throughout the hearing.” Louvois pointed to B-4’s left side, “I’m curious as to what’s in there.”

B-4 pulled out a small ball of black and grey fake fur from his left blazer pocket, “This is my tribble, Toto.” He petted the ball of fur, which vibrated and made a purring sound. “It’s not a real tribble, but it’s still my favorite toy.”

“Thank you for showing me.” Louvois grinned broadly, “Thank you for your patience and willingness to undergo the tests, today. You’re free to go.”

“Thank you for being a nice judge.” B-4 slipped Toto back into his pocket and walked to the exit. The doors whooshed open, letting him through, and he smiled as Emily intercepted him.

Emily embraced B-4, “I hear congratulations are in order.”

B-4 wrapped his arms around Emily, “I am sentient and a citizen, not a property. I am also not a threat.”

“I could have told anyone that.” Emily beamed as she planted a kiss on B-4, letting her lips linger.

B-4 returned the slow, expressive kiss, then drew his head back, “That was not a standard kiss.”

Emily winced, then stammered, “That was a, um, “congratulations on the favorable ruling” kind of kiss. I’m sorry, B-4. I got a little carried away with the excitement.”

“Ah.” B-4 loosened his arms from the embrace, “I only get one of those, so it’s all right for it to be carried away.”

Emily reached for B-4’s right hand, “Let’s go to Marvin’s Tavern and celebrate with a Finagle’s Folly.”

“That sounds good.” B-4 took Emily’s hand and walked with her. “Part of the test was hard, but I did okay on it, because I seem like a human. I suppose since Data had no emotions, he seemed like a robot and it was hard for them to understand him.” The cheer in his tone of voice faded, “Lore’s part is going to be much, much harder.”


	20. Observations

**Stardate 58528.7**

Lore escorted Counselor Veluna to the area in the room where the holographic guards stood, “Have a good day, Counselor. I assume tomorrow, same time?”

Veluna smiled back at Lore, “Of course. See you tomorrow.” She nodded to the Bolian security guard, then exited the holodeck.

Lore sauntered back towards the punching bag, then altered his route to stand near T’Mera. “I like her. She’s patient.”

“Being patient is a fine virtue.” T’Mera responded, “You’re still making progress, even if you haven’t talked about the big things, yet. At least you’re coming to terms with your sibling rivalry with Data.”

Lore scowled, “Dealing with Data is the most immediate concern. Talking about Omicron Theta won’t be easy.” He peered over T’Mera’s shoulder to the display screen. “That’s not my programming. What are you working on?”

“I have everything I need, where you’re concerned, so I’m just running some background tests on your programming. We still need the Legal Beagles to give us the go ahead on you, so I figured to make some progress on my projects.” T’Mera stopped typing as she spoke, “This is something I’ve been asked to work on by Starfleet Communications. It’s long-distance tactile protocols for holo-communicators. I have my misgivings about it, but the positive uses of it are as numerous as any misuses.” She smiled up at Lore, “I can also make certain the safety protocols are solid, this way.”

Lore’s eyes focused on the writing on the screen, “Someone in one holodeck will be able to touch and interact with someone in an entirely different holodeck. Interesting.”

“I know.” T’Mera bit her lip with apprehension, “The ability to have an expert surgeon do emergency surgery from across the sector is a decent toss-up for the ability to also have remote assassinations. If I do my job well enough, I’ll make it possible to trace remote holographic interactions.”

“Well…” Lore walked away from T’Mera’s workstation, “Don’t let me interrupt your work.” After several minutes of pacing, he asked, “So, some legal expert is coming here?”

“That’s correct. They might even be here, already.” T’Mera replied as she worked, “And Juliana Tainer’s on her way. She should arrive in a day or so.”

“She’s actually coming? I’m amazed.” Lore slapped his left hand into his chest and staggered backwards in a mock heart attack.

“Well, they need her for the deposition, too.” T’Mera smirked at Lore’s melodramatic move, “That’s pretty good. You might have a future in acting.”

Lore’s derisive smirk dropped and he sat in the chair next to T’Mera’s workstation, “The way Data speaks about Juliana, one would think she was a lovely, sweet flower of a woman.”

T’Mera replied while continuing her typing at the console, “Data, at times, perceives people as better than they are. He assumes they’ll be trustworthy and noble, until he’s proven wrong. Ironically, you’re the only one who ever busted his rose-colored optics.”

Lore studied the holographer’s face, “I would say that he sees me as worse than I am, but to be honest with myself… I probably am as bad as he makes me out to be. Have you met Juliana?”

“No.” T’Mera shook her head, “I’m not even sure she knows about me. After he returned to the Enterprise, Data sent her a subspace message, letting her know he’s alive, but I don’t think he had a conversation with her. Come to think of it, I don’t think he got to speak to her this time, either. Just a quick subspace message to her, telling her that you were reactivated and looking to be repaired.”

Lore snorted, “She’s probably coming here to see him, then, not me.”

“She could see both of you.” T’Mera winked at the grumpy android, “That’s always an option.”

Lore remained silent for a moment, studying the holographer, “T’Mera, do you feel like the same person you were? I’m wondering whether Juliana changed when Father turned her into an android.”

T’Mera rubbed her chin in thought, “I seem to have the exact same personality I had when I was biological. The main difference for me seems to be in the way I perceive and the sensory inputs. I also still get prompts to eat and sleep. Even though I have the same subprocessors as Data, I don’t have the speed he has. I’m pretty much the same as I used to be, as far as thought processing, dreaming, and the like. If Juliana’s synaptic transfer succeeded, then she should be the exact person she was as a human, no matter what hardware Soong used. If it wasn’t a full success, then she’d have her memories, skills and knowledge but not her personality. I doubt she’d fool people into thinking she’s human if she had no personality.” She regarded Lore for a minute, “If you think she sounds different, it could be the same issue as there was with Doctor Soong… That they just speak to you in a disparate way. People do that to their biological children, too, even though they shouldn’t.”

Lore leaned forward to look at T’Mera’s display, “I’ll find out, if she comes to see me.”

T’Mera glanced to her left, “Did you want to discuss possible options for clothing? Or do you plan to continue your underwear strike?”

Lore straightened, then folded his arms across his chest, “What difference does it make what I’m wearing? I can’t have a uniform.”

“There are plenty of people who don’t wear uniforms.” T’Mera pointed to herself, then tapped on her console. The display brought up some images of male fashions. “You could choose something unique and individual to you. Or we can just put you in black trousers and a pair of black shoes.”

“Fine.” Lore leaned back in the chair, “That should make me presentable to the all the people coming to stand in judgement over the monster.”

T’Mera offered a smile to Lore, “We could give you a black tweed blazer and complete the Frankenstein look.”

“Very funny.” The left side of Lore’s mouth twitched upwards with amusement. “Black trousers and shoes will suffice for my time interred here at the holographic prison.”

T’Mera tapped her console again, and black trousers and a pair of black ankle boots appeared on the chaise. “Your attire, Mister Monster.”

Lore raised an eyebrow as he stood up and walked to the chaise, “That better not be my new nickname.” He grabbed the pants and pulled them on over his legs, then slipped the boots over his feet.

“I hadn’t planned on giving you a diminutive. I didn’t give one to B-4.” T’Mera replied as she brought up a new display with a quickly scrolling wall of text.

Lore walked back towards T’Mera, then stood behind her and watched the text scrolling on a different display. “What is all that, now?”

T’Mera turned her head to obliquely gaze at Lore, “This is a simulation of your neural net. I’m running it to see how your pathways will function after I remove your Momentary Lapse of Reason and remote access, and add the Amygdala, the self-correcting mechanism, security system and the Moral and Ethical subroutines. No conflicts, so far.” She then added, “This is straight code, mind you. I’m not sure how your emotional reactions will be.”

“So, in other words…” Lore’s eyes remained open as he absorbed the information, “If I cascade, it won’t be due to errors in your programming. It’ll be to my own feelings.”

“Most likely, although an isolinear simulation of positronic activity isn’t going to be a hundred percent accurate.” T’Mera returned her focus to the console and displays. “Try to remember to keep logic, Lore. Your actions, no matter how horrible, are still in the past. You might feel crushing guilt, but nothing will change what happened. Logic would suggest that you accept that you did such things, that you atone, and that you concentrate on the present and immediate future.”

“I’m an android.” Lore stated evenly. “I’m all about logic.” At T’Mera’s wordless stare, he amended, “Fine, fine. At least I don’t go into a shutdown mode if someone offers to lead an android revolt against the galaxy.”

“So, in other words, you’re revolting?” T’Mera smirked.

Lore narrowed his eyes at the holographer, “I walked right into that one.” He returned to the rolling chair and sat with a heavy thud. “I read all about the Dominion War. I don’t know why Doctor Soong wanted me to eradicate biological lifeforms. They seem to do a great job of it, all on their own.”

T’Mera paused for a moment, then answered, “It does seem that way. I guess it’s easier to destroy than it is to create.”

Lore’s golden eyes widened for a moment, then he watched in silence as T’Mera continued the simulations.

 

* * *

 

“Computer, mute speaker.” Captain Picard ordered from his seat in the viewing room of Holodeck Four. He turned to the red-haired woman seated to his right. “If he follows pattern, Lore will be silent for an hour or so.”

Phillipa Louvois took a sip from her teacup, “It’s amazing how much physical resemblance there is between the three of them, yet their personalities are all so different. When I first met Commander Data, he was so quiet and emotionless that it was difficult to make the ruling about whether he was property or not. I recently met B-4, and he was warm, friendly and so adorable that I wish I could have kept him for my own. Now, I have to interview this one. He’s so animated and angry.”

From her seat on the left side of Captain Picard, Veluna offered Louvois a soft smile, “A vast difference in their upbringings, as well as some of the underlying code. I wouldn’t be able to explain the programming differences, but Doctor Chipman will. I haven’t met B-4, so I can’t give an opinion there, but his formative time occurred with Doctor Chipman and then he was given to the Daystrom Institute. Data was raised by Starfleet. Lore was not so lucky.”

Louvois gave a nod of acknowledgement to Veluna, “I’d like to hear your report on Lore.”

“I’ve managed to get a bit out of him about his time with the Pakleds and a small amount about Omicron Theta has emerged when Lore speaks with Data.” Veluna glanced through the viewing window at Lore, then looked back at Louvois and Captain Picard, “The good news is that, even before this, Lore was not quite to the level of psychopathy. He’s still worried about the expectations of others, about approval and about how he’s perceived by others. There’s a pattern of Lore trying to be accepted into a group, but if there’s a problem, his anger and impatience surfaces.”

Louvois frowned very slightly, “Can you explain further?”

Veluna nodded to Louvois, “When Lore tried to fit in with the colonists, they rejected him and he responded with anger. He wanted duties and a uniform on the Enterprise, to do what Data was doing, but became upset when told it would take years, including attending the academy, and that Data’s first duty was to Starfleet. To Lore, that was a rejection. He managed to find some success with the Pakleds. They took him in, immediately accepted him and gave him the same clothing items they wore. They treated him with respect and valued him, and so Lore was content during that time period. When he found the Borg, it was the same thing. He donned an outfit to give himself an appearance similar to theirs, and again, they needed him, to the point of making him a cult leader.”

Veluna took a sip of water from the cup by her chair, “Lore still exhibits something like sympathy, empathy and compassion, although his rage overshadows every other emotion. A psychopath usually has trouble forming bonds with others, but Lore does have an emotional attachment to Data and to Doctor Soong, and has expressed some interest in B-4. This is a good sign and means he stands a better chance of rehabilitation than a psychopath would.” She waited for their silent acknowledgement and continued, “I’ve also noticed that he avoided eye contact with Doctor Crusher and Commander La Forge at the meeting. This suggests that he has some remorse for what he’s done, or at least is aware that what he did was wrong. The way he describes himself… as evil and a monster… suggests to me that he’s acting out and, through his anger, playing the role that he feels trapped in.”

Louvois looked through the viewing window, “He seems very calm around Doctor Chipman.”

Veluna gave a quick nod, then followed the other woman’s gaze, “He has his moments of panic around her, but she manages to pacify him. That’s another bond he might be forming. When you go to interview him, he might first attempt to intimidate or frighten you. If you want, I’ll go with you. He tends to be calm around me, as well.”

Phillipa Louvois rubbed her chin for a moment, then responded, “I think I’d like to continue to observe him with others, and get a better feel for his behavior.”

Captain Picard’s normally dispassionate expression lifted for a moment, and he smiled, “Very well, Phillipa. It will be nice to have you aboard the Enterprise. I hope you will join me for dinner, later.”

Louvois smiled broadly and nodded to Picard. “Of course.”

Picard rose to his feet, then tugged at the top of his uniform, “If you will excuse me, I need to attend to other matters. I’ll see you at nineteen-hundred hours, my quarters.” At her acknowledging nod, he exited the holodeck.

 

* * *

**Stardate 58534.1**

 

Beta shift brought Commander Worf to Holodeck Four. He returned the greeting from the security personnel, then made his way to T’Mera’s workstation, “Commander Data is occupied with helping the terraformers on the surface, and has asked that you greet Doctor Tainer in his absence.”

T’Mera held up her right hand in the Vulcan salute, “I can do that. When is she due here?”

Worf replied in his deep voice, “She should be arriving within minutes. We will have her beamed to Transporter Room One. I will watch Lore in the interim.”

Lore glanced up from reading on his own personal display, then smirked.

T’Mera tapped on her console, then stood. “Lore, I’ll be back in a bit.” She walked to the exit of the holodeck and out through the sliding doors.

Lore canted his head to study Worf, “I meant to tell you, I like the long ponytail. Very Klingon. Far better than the Starfleet short bob you had when we first met.”

Worf answered with a guttural growl, “I am not here to discuss my hair.”

Lore inclined his head back to look up at the Klingon, “Are you going to attempt to exact revenge for the incident in the turbolift? Your people say “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Well, I imagine it’s frozen solid, by now.”

“I am here to keep watch on you.” Worf answered. “Nothing more. Nothing less.”

“Hmm.” Lore glanced to the security guard between the two photonic guards, “That’s not Ensign Murphy over there. You do realize you still can’t win in a fight against me, right? I could try to escape. I’m surprised everyone’s being so lax. I’m dangerous.”

“Yes, you are.” Worf replied to the android, “This will either be a test of your honor, or a test of Doctor Chipman’s holograms. I am expecting the latter. You have no comprehension of honor and duty.”

The sardonic smirk vanished from Lore’s lips, “I know what the words _mean_ , Worf. I just can’t fathom the ideas, any more than I could understand what it feels like to lay eggs.” He began to pace in the small area near the rolling chair, “I remember Data’s adherence to the idea of duty. I couldn’t understand it.”

“Perhaps you will, once you are repaired.” Worf offered while resting his hand on the modified tricorder at his hip, “Data understands both, which is one of the reasons I call him friend.”

Lore threw both his arms in the air as he paced in a circle around Worf, “What could a fierce Klingon warrior and my timid, unambitious brother have in common enough to become friends?”

“He and I have many things in common.” Worf followed the pacing android with his eyes, “When we met, we were both orphans that had been rescued by Starfleet. We are also the only ones of our kind in Starfleet. Commander Data is selfless in his duty to his captain and to his ship. Another similarity is that he and I both found out much later in life that we had a brother we had never known before. I have been friends with Data for many years, and have come to know him extremely well.” He continued pivoting to keep Lore in front of him, “Data may seem timid and gentle, and perhaps he is, but his heart is loyal and strong, and he has faced death with his eyes open and put himself in the path of danger to save others. He has earned his place among the Honored Dead many times over.”

A light chuckle emitted from Lore, “Data was supposed to have been female, did you know that? I should have had a sister, or perhaps Data would have been my female companion and counterpart. Father and Juliana argued constantly while designing him, and father gave in to many of her demands as far as Data’s programming. Hobbies, creativity and the like.”

“That would explain much about Data’s personality.” Despite his misgivings, Worf relaxed his guard slightly and continued the conversation, “What made him change from that plan?”

A shadow of anger passed over Lore’s face, “My guess is that since he planned to deactivate me when Data was finished, he couldn’t bear the thought of his single remaining android not resembling him. So he built the head and kept it secret from Juliana until the day of physical construction. Instead of a sister or mate, now I was faced with my duplicate… my replacement. A lesser model of myself.”

“Would you have been less upset if Data had been a superior model?” Worf kept his hand in a casual drape over the tricorder.

“Maybe. I’m not sure.” Lore answered, taking no notice of Worf’s hand placement. “If Data could do more, instead of less, then replacement might have made sense to me.”

“Everything you speak of is external.” Worf’s heavy brows knitted to the bridge of his nose, “The true test of a warrior is not without - it is within. Perhaps you are not a warrior, but the solution will be the same. The answers you seek must come from inside you. You must find your own sense of honor. Only then can you seek redemption.”

“Even if I fail, it should be an interesting show.” Lore pressed his lips together, with an upturn to the left side. “I’m truly surprised. I thought you’d come in here and punch me in the face.”

Worf smirked at the android, “I do not fear you. However, had I punched you, I would incur Doctor Chipman’s wrath, and that is something I do _not_ want.”

 

* * *

 

T’Mera waited in Transporter Room one as the blue shimmering energy coalesced into a short woman with bright blue eyes, high cheekbones and silvery hair. “Live long and prosper, Doctor Tainer.” T’Mera stepped forward to help Juliana down the steps if needed, “Welcome to the Enterprise. Data sends his regrets, but his duties on the planet have him busy. He’ll join us when he can.”

Juliana easily managed the stairs, then beamed at T’Mera, “Thank you. You must be Deanna Troi. I’ve wanted to meet you for so long.”

“Ah, no. I’m Doctor T’Mera Chipman. You can call me T’Mera.” T’Mera smiled back, then gestured to the door, “Deanna Troi is currently stationed on the USS Titan with her husband, Captain Riker.”

Juliana’s smile faded and she blinked in surprise, “Her husband? Data never told me. The poor dear… he must have been devastated that she married someone else.”

“He misses her on a personal level, I’m sure, but he wasn’t devastated.” T’Mera stated as she and Doctor Tainer walked into the corridor. “He finds her replacement to be quite satisfactory.”

“That’s horrible.” Juliana frowned to the point of creating creases in her forehead, “We didn’t program him to be capable of meaningless flings.”

T’Mera went silent for a minute, then spoke, “I now suspect that we’re having two entirely different conversations, Doctor Tainer. Deanna Troi was the head Counselor on board the Enterprise until the end of Earth year 2379.”

“I thought she and Data were romantically involved?” Juliana kept her voice quiet as they passed some other crewmembers in the corridor.

T’Mera managed to suppress a smile, “No. She and Data were friends, and she was his therapist.”

“Oh!” Juliana put her right hand to her lips, “That’s a shame. I know Noonian was hoping Data’s sexuality programming would work.”

“It works. You don’t need to worry about it.” T’Mera reassured the geologist as they stepped into the turbolift. “Deck eight.” The turbolift doors shut and the display on the wall indicated their transitory progress.

Juliana spoke hesitantly, “So, you and Data…?”

“Yes. Data and I are together.” T’Mera replied, “I know he had sent a couple of subspace messages to you, but I wasn’t sure if he mentioned me. Since you were under the impression that he was seeing someone else, I’m guessing he didn’t.”

“The messages Data sent me were very short.” Juliana clapped her hands together, then interlaced her fingers. “The first one informed me that he was alive, which I took as a relief. The second one…” She separated her hands and dropped them to her sides as the cheer in her voice faded. “Was to inform me that someone had reactivated Lore by accident. That was followed by my being contacted by Starfleet, about Lore’s possible repair and that I might be needed to give a deposition about the colony on Omicron Theta.”

“I don’t know what’s going to happen with the legal proceedings, but I intend to try to repair the errors in Lore’s programming. Counselor Veluna is also working with Lore on behavioral therapy.” T’Mera walked through the turbolift doors as they opened onto deck eight. “I’m taking you to see Lore, now, although I should have made certain that you want to see him.”

“I do want to see Lore.” Juliana’s voice was quiet enough to be a whisper. “Despite how he turned out, I still care about each android that Noonian and I created.”

T’Mera stopped at the panel to Holodeck Four. “Detention area, please.” She gestured to the sliding doors, “This way, Doctor.”

The two women walked through the automatic doors and into the holographic brig.


	21. Memory Mismatch

***Trigger Warning: There are references to sexual assault.***

**Stardate 58534.3**

 

T’Mera led Juliana into the detention area of the holodeck, avoiding the urge to be humorous and wave to the unseen observers in the viewing room. “There’s a table and some chairs that we’ve been using for casual chats. Would you like anything to eat or drink? The holodeck is fully functional, which includes replicators.”

“No, thank you. I’m fine.” Juliana answered as she headed for the table, then sat down in a chair.

Worf dipped his head to T’Mera, “I’ll return to the bridge, Doctor. Data should be arriving fairly soon.”

“Thank you, Commander Worf.” T’Mera gave a nod of acknowledgement to the Klingon as he exited, then gestured for Lore to sit at the table. 

With only a slight show of reluctance, Lore walked over to the table and sat down in one of the chairs.

Once the android was seated, T’Mera returned to her workstation.

Juliana broke the awkward silence, “It’s… a pleasant surprise to see you again, Lore.”

Lore smirked back at Juliana, “I assume the emphasis is on the surprise part. What can I say? People have a bad habit of reassembling me. How have you been since I last saw you? I hear you went back into geology.”

“I did, yes.” Juliana’s lips formed a tight smile, “I admit I’m more at home with minerals and mudflows than with circuits and servos.”

Lore’s eyebrows lowered and a moment passed before he spoke, “Ah, do you still make jewelry? I always thought you were a talented lapidary.”

Juliana tilted her head to the right, “Jewelry? I don’t recall ever making jewelry. You must be mistaken.”

Lore fully frowned and glanced to T’Mera, then back at Juliana. “I have a complete memory record.” He paused, “But it’s not important.” His shoulders relaxed as he saw Data enter the holographic detention area.

“I’m sorry it’s so awkward, Lore.” Juliana’s tone of voice conveyed apology. “The last time I saw you was…” She trailed off, not finishing the sentence.

Lore completed the sentence for her, “When you and Often Wrong were deactivating me.” He smirked, “It does kind of put a damper on the reunion.” He lifted his chin as Data entered the holodeck, “There you are, brother. Now, we really feel like a family.”

Data walked over to T’Mera and gave her the customary kiss, then approached the table, “Greetings, Lore… Mother.” He sat in one of the empty chairs, “I apologize for my tardiness, but my help was needed on the planet.”

Juliana smiled at Data, “It’s quite all right. Lore and I were getting reacquainted. I also met T’Mera.” She leaned towards Data and whispered, “She’s very pretty.”

Lore leaned towards Juliana and whispered to her, “T’Mera’s got Vulcan hearing. She can overhear you when you whisper.”

The left side of Data’s mouth lifted up in amusement, “She is also an android, but thank you. I find T’Mera to be aesthetically pleasing, as well.”

T’Mera gave a lighthearted chuckle as she worked, “I ain’t been droppin’ no eaves.”

Juliana blinked in surprise, turned her head to look at T’Mera, then turned back to Data. “I couldn’t even tell she’s an android. Who built her?”

Data hesitated, then replied, “I built her body and her positronic brain. She was a fully organic woman with whom I had fallen in love, but she had a terminal injury. I knew that father had perfected the synaptic scan technique, so I transferred her mind into an android body just prior to her death.” Data quickly added, “With T’Mera’s consent, of course.”

“Oh.” Juliana seemed to ponder Data’s words, “I knew he was working on synaptic scanning, back on Omicron Theta. He even used some of that for the two of you. I shouldn’t be surprised that he finally succeeded. Noonian always did have a way of eventually getting things to work.” She moved her gaze to Lore, “T’Mera will be trying to repair you? I hope she can do it. I begged and pleaded with Noonian to try and fix you, but he felt it would be better to deactivate you and build a new android.”

Lore raised an eyebrow, “Which isn’t quite what happened. You two designed and built Data and left me active until I called the Crystalline Entity to the colony.”

Juliana shook her head, “No, no, Lore. We deactivated you before we created Data.”

Data mirrored Lore’s confused expression, “How long did it take for you and father to create me?”

“Why, almost five months.” Juliana lifted her right hand to her chin, “And then it took three months to get you to where Noonian wanted you to be. You had such trouble with motor skills and sensory input. And Noonian just kept tinkering with you, trying to get you to be as human as possible.”

“Don’t forget his nudism.” Lore smirked. “That, and the rudeness, were my favorite traits of Data’s.”

Juliana scowled, “Now, how would you know that, Lore?” The scowl vanished, “Oh! Data must have told you.”

Data held up his left hand with the index finger extended, “Perhaps we should skip over who was deactivated and activated when, for now, since there is a discrepancy.”

Lore stuck his tongue against the inside of his left cheek, “Fine with me. We could gossip about B-4. At least I  _ know _ I wasn’t alive when he was made.”

Juliana’s blue eyes became wistful, “Poor B-4. He nearly worked. It was so close.”

Data offered, “You might be pleased to hear that B-4 is now alive and functional. I did not tell you sooner, because I wanted to make certain that he would remain active with no chance of cascade failure.”

“B-4 is working?” Juliana widened her eyes, “How?”

“Doctor Chipman was able to repair his indexes.” Data placed both his hands flat, palms down, on the table in front of him, “She proceeded to repair the errors in his programming, and with some guidance, his neural net began to grow. B-4 is currently residing at the Daystrom Annex on Galor IV.”

Juliana clasped her palms together, “That’s wonderful! Noonian was never able to figure out why the others were unstable, but with B-4, he was able to deduce the causes.” 

Data leaned forward, to rest his hands on the table. “Mother, if it is all right, I do have some questions about your escape from Omicron Theta.”

Juliana tore her eyes from Lore and fixed them to Data, “What do you want to know?”

Data’s eyebrows lowered asymmetrically, “I wish to get a better idea of the timing involved. You had deactivated me, then transferred the colonists’ logs into my memory banks, but never had the chance to reactivate me because the Crystalline Entity attacked and you had to leave in a hurry.”

“That’s right.” Juliana switched her focus from one brother to the other as she spoke, “It attacked the bunker and I ran to the shuttle pod, only to find Noonian dragging your body with him. I made him leave you behind and we managed to lift off without the entity seeing us. I’ve already apologized to you for leaving you behind, even though we had room, Data.”

Data nodded to the geologist, “It is not apology I am seeking, but clarity.”

Lore rolled his eyes, “The Crystalline Entity ignored you just like a whale ignores two escaping krill among hundreds.” He regarded Juliana dubiously, “It was just you and Often Wrong in the shuttle? No equipment or books or anything?”

Juliana frowned as she concentrated, “It was so long ago, it’s difficult to recall. Now that you mention it, I do remember that he had already packed books, equipment and some personal items into the escape pod.”

Data canted his head to the left. “Were you injured during the escape?”

Lore leaned back in the chair, folding his arms across his chest and lifting the front two chair legs off the ground, “This is ridiculous.”

“Hmm.” Juliana paused for a moment, “I don’t remember being hurt, but I must have been. I woke up on Terlina III with Noonian standing over me. He said I had suffered some sort of head injury but had recovered after being comatose.”

The scowl on Lore’s face caused three horizontal wrinkles in his forehead, “... that I can believe…”

Data ignored Lore’s commentary and continued to ask questions, “For more clarification purposes… Lore is under the impression that Doctor Soong used substandard parts in his construction, but that higher quality components were used in mine.”

Juliana snorted and waved her right hand dismissively, “Entirely untrue. I helped put both of you together, and the very same parts were used for you, Lore, and for Data, except for the phase discriminator. Who said Lore had substandard parts?”

“Tom Handy.” Lore pressed his pale lips together, studying Juliana’s face intently.

“Pfft.” Juliana shook her head, “Mister Handy could never tell you all apart. I’m sure he thought you were B-4, who did happen to be constructed with whatever we could manage to salvage from the other prototypes.”

The anger faded from Lore’s face and he glanced at Data.

“You had mentioned to me that you left father because he loved his work more than he loved you…” Data steepled his fingers on the table, “Would you happen to know what it was that he was working so long and hard on? Did you assist him?”

Juliana’s eyebrows knit together, “I don’t know what it was, and he wouldn’t let me assist him. That was part of the problem. He was shut up in his lab all day and I had very little to occupy my own time. I couldn’t continue to live that way.”

Data’s eyes oscillated as he processed the information, “Thank you for clearing up those points for me.” 

“I’m glad I was able to do so.” Juliana smiled, then looked between the android siblings, “It would be nice if you could be repaired, Lore.” She gazed directly at Lore, “From the moment you were activated, you had a cruel, evil streak. It was heartbreaking. It seemed as if every day, someone had a complaint about you, and then there was the matter of Ed Lucien’s daughter.”

“What?” Lore shouted, slammed his hands on the table, and stood up so quickly that his chair fell over. “What matter of Ed Lucien’s daughter?”

Juliana put the fingers of her right hand to her lips, “It’s so difficult to speak of, even after all these years. You…” She paused, as if hunting for the proper words, “You sexually assaulted Evelynn.”

Lore’s golden eyes blazed with anger, “Who told you that?”

Distress showed in Juliana’s blue eyes, but she answered, “Ed Lucien told me that he had caught you in the act.”

T’Mera stopped working and swiveled in her chair, observing the three at the table with a concerned expression on her face.

Lore’s hands clenched into fists. “I never assaulted Evelynn. I would have given my own life for hers, if I’d had the opportunity! I’ll tell you something about Ed Lucien. He was cruel and far more evil than I ever was, and that’s taking into account that he comprises one quarter of one percent of my own personality. Didn’t you ever see his wife… Evelynn’s mother? The bruises…” He unclenched his fists and threw his arms up in the air, “But no, of course not. Human perception is weak and limited. You never would have noticed the shallow, nervous breathing or the small fractures in her bones… the nearly imperceptible way she would flinch. Even when humans do see such things, they pretend that it’s not their business.”

Lore’s expression hardened into a satisfied grimace, “Yes, I finally killed Lucien, when he tried to destroy me. You can call me evil, and perhaps I am, but ask yourself how humans can simply look away and not see what goes on around them. With all of my superior senses, I couldn’t be blind… I couldn’t pretend not to hear it all. I absorbed every bit of it.”

“Please calm down, Lore.” Data shot a worried glance at his brother.

“I will not calm down!” Lore shouted, then kicked his fallen chair away. He slammed his palms flat on the table and stared at Juliana, “I don’t know why your memories are so faulty, but it took at least a few weeks before I started to turn “evil”, as you so put it. It took months of neglect and mistreatment. I’ll be the first to admit that I let it turn me into a monster.” He gritted his teeth, “But do you want to know something? At least I  _ meant _ to kill the colonists! I was enraged and malicious and I wanted them out of my misery. What’s  _ your _ excuse, Mother?”

“I… I don’t understand…” Juliana stammered as she glanced back and forth from Lore to Data.

Any veneer of sarcasm drained from Lore, leaving only the rage, “You took equipment in the escape pod, and you had room for Data, but didn’t take him. That’s fine. He’s just an android, and we androids don’t have a lot of natural enemies. No, leaving Data behind wasn’t your crime.” He paused, watching the faces of Juliana and Data, “There were other colonists, including small children, hiding in the bunker. It says quite a lot about you and Father that neither one of you filled that extra space with one of them. You could have saved one or two of the colonists, or more, if you’d left the equipment behind. They never even crossed your minds, I’ll bet. For all that you claim to care about them, the other colonists didn’t really matter to you.”

Data’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped in surprise and sudden comprehension.

Juliana burst into tears, then knocked over her chair as she pushed away from the table and ran past the guards and nearly into a wall. In a voice choked with sobs, she spoke, “Computer… exit.” The arch appeared and the sliding doors whooshed open, letting the overwrought woman through them.

Lore straightened up and met the eyes of his shellshocked brother, “The sad thing is that, because of all the lies I’ve told in the past, nobody’s going to take my word over hers. Data, I had a total uptime of two years and three months on Omicron Theta. Juliana didn’t even remember that she used to be a lapidary.”

Data stood up calmly, his eyes oscillating, “I have scanned the colonists’ logs and there are a few mentions of mother giving handmade jewelry as gifts to others. This is most puzzling.”

Lore walked over to retrieve the chair he had kicked away, “You should go after her, perhaps. Tell her I’m a monster. That I’m irredeemably evil.”

Data nodded to his brother, “I will try to speak to her.” He began to walk away, then turned to face his brother once more, “I have met irredeemable evil, Lore, and you are not it.” With that, he exited the holodeck.

Lore’s eyes met T’Mera’s, “I suppose I could have handled that better.”

T’Mera nodded in agreement, “Most likely.”

Lore stalked over to his punching bag and began to pace around it, “I wasn’t expecting there to be such a discrepancy in her memories.”

The holodeck doors opened with a whoosh, letting Phillipa Louvois inside the detention area. She dipped her head in acknowledgement to the security guard, then walked through the room to stand near T’Mera’s workstation, while addressing Lore. “Hello, Lore. I’m Captain Phillipa Louvois, and I’m from the judge advocate general’s office, assigned to your case.”

“Hello, Captain. I suppose thanks are in order?” Lore stared at Louvois without blinking, “You’re the expert who’s come to take my measure?”

Louvois remained near T’Mera, but nodded to Lore, “In a manner of speaking. I’m going to take your testimony and hear from others about you, and then try to make a ruling about your legal status.”

“You’re not going to just assume I’m lying about everything?” Lore scowled, then punched the bag. 

Louvois frowned, then looked at T’Mera, “Doctor Chipman, at the risk of seeming insensitive, is there a way to tap directly into Lore’s memories, so that we can be certain they’re not fabrications? We’ve found three witnesses to the years in question on Omicron Theta, but two of them are considered unreliable. I’m taking their depositions anyway, but it would be nice to have something verifiable.”

T’Mera rubbed her chin, “Yes, there is a way to tap directly into Lore’s positronic matrix. It’s somewhat invasive from a privacy standpoint, but painless. I can link Lore’s neural net into the holodeck, search for the pertinent memory engrams and then extract Lore’s memories into something we can directly observe. It’ll take maybe an hour, at most, for me to establish the interlink parameters and security measures and then eighteen hours to transfer and program the sensory information into the Omicron Theta full representation.” She turned to regard Lore, “If Lore consents to it, that is.”

“I consent.” Misery exuded from Lore’s bright yellow eyes, then mixed with sadness, “If it proves the truth, then let everyone see my secrets. They’ll see Data’s, as well.” A pleading tone entered his voice, “Will I still be repaired?”

Phillipa Louvois’ lips formed a tight smile, “Yes, you will. I’d just like to observe your memories before Doctor Chipman starts to tamper with your programming. In the meantime, you’ll still have daily sessions with Counselor Veluna.”

Lore walked over to his rolling chair, then sat reversed in it, “Fine, Captain.”

“I’m going to make some of the arrangements.” Louvois declared, “Doctor, begin the interlink measures, and I’ll inform you when we’ll reconvene.” She turned and walked past the guards to the holodeck exit, then passed through the sliding doors into the corridor.

Lore used his feet to roll his chair closer to T’Mera, “In addition to the interlink parameters, you may want to replicate enough popcorn for everyone who’s going to come see my memories.”

 

* * *

 

Data tapped his combadge as he hurried through the corridor after his mother. “Computer… locate Doctor Juliana Tainer.”

“Doctor Tainer is located in the forward starboard observation room on Deck Ten.” came the reply.

Data entered the nearest turbolift, “Deck Ten, forward.” within a short time, the lift reached its destination and opened the doors. Data hurried through the sliding doors, then headed to the starboard observation room. He easily located his mother; She stood at one of the large windows, staring out at Omicron Theta. Data slowed his pace to a more casual one, then stood quietly at Juliana’s side.

Juliana wiped the tears from her cheeks, “You probably think I’m awful. All those hateful things Lore said to me, but he’s right. I don’t think it ever occurred to us to save anyone else. I’ve never even given them a second thought.” She looked up at Data with blue eyes filled with remorse, “You have to understand. It was utter chaos. I don’t remember most of it, and as you said, I must have been injured…” She trailed off in disbelief, “... I wouldn’t have willingly left people to die, would I? But I did… We did...”

Data calculated the proper response, as he reached an arm out to wrap around Juliana’s shoulders. “It was a very long time ago, Mother. You and Father made mistakes, it is true.” He kept his voice placid, “It is very possible that many hidden events from the past will be revealed by Lore. Secrets. Mistakes. It is important to be strong, and to forgive yourself for your part in any of it.”

“I didn’t want to tell you this…” Juliana’s voice wavered, “But given how the conversation with Lore just went, you would most likely figure it out soon enough.” She reached out with both hands, placing one on each of Data’s arms and slid them down past his wrists until she grabbed both of his hands in hers, “There’s no pleasant way to put it. I’m losing my memory. I’ll go to replicate a meal, then right after I finish eating, I forget I’ve just eaten and I replicate another meal. Sometimes I lose my concentration, or I lose the ability to recall some words.”

Data frowned, while he clasped her hands, “Have you seen a doctor about these symptoms?”

“No.” Juliana shook her head, “I haven’t been to see a doctor since…” She paused for a moment, then frowned, as well. “I don’t think I’ve seen one since I was on Omicron Theta. The Atreans aren’t all that familiar with human physiology, either, so I never felt the need to go.”

Data hesitated, as if weighing his next words, “Mother, I would like to ask Doctor Crusher to give you a physical, if you would be willing to consent to that.”

Juliana gave Data an encouraging smile through her tear-stained face, “All right. I suppose it’s about time I had a checkup. At Doctor Crusher’s convenience, of course. There’s no rush.”

“No, there is no rush.” Data pushed his concern to the background of his thoughts, “Would you like to go to the lounge and have a drink while we converse?”

Juliana composed herself, “That sounds lovely. You can tell me all about you and T’Mera. I’d like to hear how you met, about B-4 and anything else you’d want to tell your mother.”

Data offered his right elbow to her. After she took it with her left hand, Data led her to the lounge and recounted the tale for the next ninety minutes.


	22. Overtures

**Stardate 58537.0**

 

Lore sat stationary in his rolling chair, occasionally glancing at Jenna D’Sora. “Do you have to stand all the way over there to guard me? Come over here, since I can’t move.” He pointed to the interface cable attached to one of the ODN ports on the right side of his head. 

Jenna D’Sora pressed her lips together, “Why do you want me over there? I can see and hear you fine from here.”

“Because.” Lore gritted his teeth in a wide, toothy smile, “You seem to be scrutinizing me. I’m not Data, you know. I notice and can read the subtle nuances of facial expression and body language. Something about me fascinates you, but you’re afraid to come closer.”

“I’m not afraid.” Jenna responded, “I’m just keeping my post.”

“What a shame.” Lore’s eyes traveled up and down D’Sora’s body, “I’ll figure out what you want from me, eventually.”

T’Mera continued to type on the console, “Lore, I’m going to program the holodeck to extrapolate into third person, since the purpose for this is informational. If you ever decide to publish an interactive holonovel of your memoirs from Omicron Theta, I can teach you how to allow for a first person experience for the viewer.”

“Fine.” Lore grumbled, then leaned against the chair’s backrest, “Who’d bother viewing a holonovel written by an android?”

“The same ones who bothered to view a holonovel written by a sentient hologram.” T’Mera replied to his question. “Even more of them, if your story has sex in it. “Photons Be Free” is fairly dry.”

Lore smirked, “There’s definitely some sex in the story of Omicron Theta, as well as full frontal android nudity.” He focused his eyes on D’Sora, “How about that, Assistant Security Chief Blondie? Think you can handle seeing my brother in the altogether?”

Lieutenant D’Sora smiled amiably back at Lore, “I’m sure I can handle it. Don’t worry about me.”

Lore’s smirk broadened, “As you wish, then. Often Wrong Soong gave us fully functional anatomy and made certain we were programmed for a variety of sexual activities. He really put the “sin” in “synthetic”.”

Lieutenant D’Sora chuckled at the joke, “That’s pretty funny.”

T’Mera stopped typing, then reached over to unplug the cable from Lore’s head, “All done. You can move around again.” 

Lore closed the panel of hair over the port, “So that’s all of Omicron Theta turned into a holoprogram?”

T’Mera nodded as she tapped a few buttons, “That, and I also grabbed your time with the Pakleds, since there’s considerable interest in the years that you weren’t running afoul of the Federation.”

Lore strolled around the detention area, “It won’t have very interesting dialogue. Pakleds aren’t exactly accomplished conversationalists, although they were certainly preferable to drifting alone in space.” He stopped next to D’Sora, then spoke in the stilted, simplified speaking pattern of a Pakled, “Lore is smart. He makes us strong. He makes us go.” After a beat, Lore snorted and reverted to his normal voice, “I still can’t believe a tiny flower like you is in security.”

“Starfleet security is more than just physical confrontation.” Jenna placed her right hand over her holster, “If you really must know, my specialty is modifying weaponry, including photon and quantum torpedos and phasers. I can arm and disarm explosive devices, as well.”

Lore leaned against one of the holographic guards, as if it were a support column, “I’m impressed, then.” He tilted his head back to look at the guard’s face, “You don’t mind me using you, do you?”

The emotionless guard replied, “No. It’s easier to watch you this way.”

Lore frowned, “T’Mera, if these things have to be humorless, could you at least make them look Vulcan, instead of human?”

“I can do that.” T’Mera replied, and the appearance of both guards dissolved from human to Vulcan. “They can look like anything you want, even Vermicious Knids.”

Lore frowned in bewilderment and glanced to an equally puzzled D’Sora, “She’s just making up words, now. I’m fairly certain I can outthink these robotic guards. After all, I’m designed to exceed human capacity, both mentally and physically.”

A chuckle emitted from T’Mera as she grinned at Lore from across the room, “The human capacity for  _ what _ , though?”

“I hate when you do that to me, T’Mera.” Lore snorted at the holographer. “How many people are supposed to be coming to my party to watch my wonderful memories?”

“Not that many.” T’Mera began to create the seating area for the audience, “Data will be here, as will Captain Picard, Counselor Veluna, Captain Louvois and I think Doctor Crusher wanted to witness, as well.”

With a wince, Lore pushed himself away from the guard, “Doctor Crusher coming to see this is a surprise. Although I suppose that seeing me suffer would make someone who hates me feel better.”

“She’s a doctor, Lore.” T’Mera shook her head, “I don’t think she wants to see anyone suffer, and you’re not an empath, so you can’t say exactly what she feels. Try not to worry too much about what anyone is thinking about you.”

Lore strolled around the semicircular table, “I hope I get to sit next to Veluna.”

“I’m sure it can be arranged.” T’Mera gestured with her right hand and six chairs appeared around the outer circumference of the table, equally spaced.

Lore made his way back to Lieutenant D’Sora’s side, “Torpedo and weapons specialist, hmm? Tell me more about yourself.”

D’Sora hesitated for a moment, then sighed, “I’m just here to guard you and not to fraternize with you, Lore.”

Lore opened his mouth to reply to the Lieutenant, when the holodeck doors opened, admitting Data. “Ah, my dear brother arrives.”

Data dipped his head in greeting, “Lore… Lieutenant D’Sora.” He crossed the room to greet T’Mera with the customary kiss, “Doctor Chipman…” After the brief kiss concluded, he asked, “I assume the program is ready? The others are on their way here.”

D’Sora dipped her head once to Data, “Commander.” then smiled wistfully as Data and T’Mera shared the brief kiss.

T’Mera smiled up at Data, “Yes, Commander. The program is ready and the margin of error is two point four percent. The advantages of pulling everything directly from memory engrams.”

Lore stole a glance at D’Sora’s face, then gave her a tight-lipped smile, “Now I see.” He lowered the volume of his voice, “Most people look away when my brother and T’Mera kiss. You keep watching them, and your facial expression changes to something more like a longing. That’s what it is. You’re attracted to him, but he has someone else.” With a toothy grin, he continued, “Which means you find  _ me _ physically attractive.”

D’Sora rolled her eyes at the android next to her, “Fine. I dated him for a day or so, years ago. That’s it, nothing more. What you think you see is just my being happy for him and Doctor Chipman.”

“Are you certain that’s what it is?” Lore smirked, then waggled his eyebrows.

“I’m positive.” D’Sora replied in a hushed tone, “Is it really that important to you?”

Lore studied Jenna for a moment, then answered, “I do find it interesting. After all, he and I are identical in appearance.”

“So is B-4.” D’Sora countered. “He was aboard the ship a short while after Data…” she paused and bit her lip, “Well, after Data blew himself up along with the Scimitar.”

“But you don’t find me attractive?” Lore pressed the matter.

“Lore…” D’Sora pursed her lips, “Yes, you’re very handsome, but you remind me of the time that Data tried to act like a “solicitous mate”, instead of himself. What really attracted me to Data wasn’t his looks, but his kindness, attentiveness and his gentle nature. I’m not sure what it is, because I know that you have emotions, but there’s something that feels fake about how you act. Like you’re putting on a performance, instead of being yourself.”

The jovial veneer dropped from Lore’s expression, “Being myself? Myself is an enraged murderer. An inconsiderate asshole. You’d rather have that?”

“If it’s who you are, then yes. I’d want you to be an honest, enraged Lore than this phony, ingratiating Lore.” D’Sora sighed, “But you don’t have to do anything for me, one way or another. I’m just guarding you. Why don’t you go over and sit at the table, since the captain will be arriving soon?”

Lore brought his right hand up to his lips, kissing the tips of his fingers and blowing the imaginary kiss to her, “As you wish, Assistant Security Chief.” He meandered to T’Mera’s workstation.

Data looked across the room with concern, “Lieutenant D’Sora, is my brother harassing you? I can get a replacement for you, if it is a concern.”

“That won’t be necessary, Commander.” D’Sora smiled back at Data. “It’s been… informative… meeting and getting to know Lore. He doesn’t bother me. I’ll remain here for the presentation, as previously discussed.”

With a nod, Data turned his attention to Lore, “Please behave yourself with the security guards. This includes Lieutenant D’Sora.”

“Fine. I will.” Lore folded his arms across his chest, “Can you turn off your emotions, Data?”

Data replied with a brief shake of his head, “Not completely off, as I used to be able to do, but T’Mera’s programming allows me to suppress my feelings in a similar manner that Vulcans use. Artificial Kolinahr, if you will. Why?”

“You might not want to watch my memories with emotions active.” Lore’s face turned blank and neutral, “The android that you were is quite different than the one who reassembled me in 2364. During the viewing, you might experience pain, anger, and embarrassment.”

Data seemed to consider Lore’s words for a moment, “Perhaps. I will begin the viewing at my standard emotional setting and adjust accordingly. I must admit it is… unsettling to have you exhibit concern for my wellbeing.”

“Would you rather I didn’t?” Lore spat back, then turned his back on Data.

“No, Lore.” Data pressed his pale lips into a thin line. “This is a far better situation than we have been in when compared to our previous encounters. I am sorry if my words offended you. I meant them as more of a realization about myself than about your actions.”

“Fine.” Lore sighed and turned to face Data, “If I could shut my own emotions down for this, I would. I’m still annoyed with Often Wrong for giving us working male anatomy and programming that simulates a sex drive. What’s the point? We can’t reproduce that way.”

T’Mera tilted her head to observe the android brothers, “Perhaps he just didn’t want to the two of you to be Unix?”

Lore let out a groan, “That was both awful and obscure. You have my compliments.”

“I found it amusing, t’hy’la.” Data’s lips moved upwards into a slight smile. The sound of the holodeck doors opening drew his attention.

Captain Picard entered the holodeck, flanked by Captain Louvois, Counselor Veluna and Doctor Crusher. “Hello, Doctor Chipman… Lore. Are the preparations finished for the viewing?”

“Everything except the popcorn, Captain.” T’Mera smiled at the newcomers, “But I think, given the subject matter, everyone might rather forgo the salty snack.”

Captain Louvois sat down in the central chair of the table. “That’s the wisest thing, I think.”

Captain Picard sat to the right of Louvois, “Agreed.” 

Doctor Crusher sat down to the right of Captain Picard, “We’re sure these memories haven’t been tampered with?”

“I’m positive, Doctor.” T’Mera moved her chair to a spot close to the table, yet in arm’s reach of her workstation, “I checked each timestamp. Despite the number of times Lore has been deactivated and even with the programming errors in his neural net, his memory recordings are pristine.”

Counselor Veluna took the seat to the left of Captain Louvois, then gave Lore a small smile as he sat in the chair to her left. “Hello, Lore. How are you feeling, today?”

Lore rested his left elbow on the surface of the table, then grumbled, “Delighted. Nothing makes me happier than reminiscing about the colony on Omicron Theta, and knowing that it’s all about to be displayed to people who are making decisions about my future and my fate.”

Veluna reached out to rub Lore’s shoulders briefly, “I’ll be right here, next to you.”

Captain Louvois settled into her seat, “I still can’t believe I have to do more rulings on the Soong androids. Like I said years ago, this is all dealing with metaphysics and questions best left to saints.”

T’Mera’s mouth moved to make a tiny smile, “They couldn’t find any saints for this. Saints don’t tend to go into law.”

That brought a chuckle from Louvois, “No, I don’t suppose they would.”

“All right.” T’Mera turned to address everyone seated at the table, “It would be time-consuming to sit through two years’ worth of Lore’s memories, so what I’ve done is pinpoint some of the more pertinent passages to show. At any point in the presentation, someone can ask for the display to be paused, either for clarification or to move on to a new time period, or to call a recess for resting.”

Captain Louvois gave T’Mera a nod of acknowledgement, “I would like to see some of the time around his…” She glanced at the others, “I believe it’s called a formative period? The first few months after activation?”

“That is correct, Captain.” Data answered. 

T’Mera pulled the workstation console over to her lap, then began to type, “That can be arranged.”

The light levels in the holodeck decreased until they were surrounded with full darkness. Rapid clicks and beeping could be heard as light levels rose. Books, toys and charts filled the shelves lining the walls of the laboratory. In the center of the room, a pale-skinned male figure lay recumbent in a chair, with another man hunched over him. The reclining figure’s bright yellow eyes darted about the room, then settled on the man standing next to him, recording the unkempt and greying brown hair, blue eyes and the wrinkles beginning to etch into the smiling face.

The standing man lowered his left hand, nearly dropping the small tool he held. His smile widened, “Happy birthday.”


	23. Lore's Salad Days

**Omicron Theta in 2335**

 

Doctor Noonian Soong lowered his left hand, nearly dropping the small tool he held. A smile of delight spread across his face, as he looked into the yellow eyes of his newest creation, “Happy birthday.”

The android’s yellow eyes darted back and forth, taking in its current surroundings. “Happy birthday?” His eyes settled for a moment on the young, auburn-haired woman standing near a tool-covered table. “A celebration of the anniversary of the birth of a person or an institution.” He turned his gaze back to Soong.

Doctor Soong chuckled, “You’re absolutely right. I should have said “happy birth _date_ ”. Or, in this case, happy activation date. Let’s run some tests, shall we? Does your internal chronometer tell you today’s date?”

The android’s eyes oscillated for a moment, “Stardate one-two-six-six-six point zero. Earth equivalent date is September fifth, 2335. Omicron Theta colony is currently in its early spring season.”

Soong clapped his hands together, “Excellent. Now, stand up, rub your stomach and pat yourself on the head.”

The android lifted itself out of the chair, then moved its arms to comply with the instructions.

“Beautiful, beautiful.” Soong watched, then added another instruction, “Whistle for me. Pop goes the weasel.”

While still moving its arms and hands, the android whistled a faltering rendition of the song.

Soong grunted in disappointment, “Oh well. That’s enough of that.”

The android stopped whistling, patting and rubbing, and dropped his arms to his sides. The eager expression on his face transformed to shame.

“How about this one.” Soong began a slight dance and song, “I say to-may-toe…” while swinging his arms to his left, “And you say to-mah-toe…” then swung his arms to the right.

The android copied his creator, “I say po-tay-toe…” adding the proper hand swing and pointed fingers for each part, “And you say po-tah-toe… Let’s call the whole thing off…”

Soong’s face returned to the ecstatic smile, “Ha! Juliana, did you see that?” He turned to look at the red-headed woman. “He didn’t just copy me, he continued the song where I left off.”

Juliana smiled back at the cyberneticist, “I saw. I have to admit, Noonian, I was skeptical, but you did it.”

Soong closed the distance between himself and Juliana, “I finally did it! He’s perfect, on my first attempt.” He embraced his wife, then turned to marvel at his creation, “The way he moves and speaks, his nuanced facial expressions… they’re so completely human.”

The android looked at the couple, then addressed Doctor Soong, “You are Noonian.” He turned his attention to Juliana, “You are Juliana.” His brows furrowed for a moment, “Who am I?”

Doctor Soong furrowed his brow in concentration, then smiled again, “You are Lore.”

“Lore.” The android repeated, “A body of traditions and knowledge on a subject or held by a particular group, typically passed from person to person by word of mouth.” After another moment of contemplation, the android nodded, “I am the Lore of Omicron Theta.”

Doctor Soong beckoned to Lore, “Come this way. Let’s test your equilibrium and other functions in the main laboratory. I can hardly wait to show you off.”

A beatific smile formed on Lore’s face and he followed Soong out of the cluttered lab.

 

* * *

 

“Everything checks out.” Edward Lucien’s voice held a slight enmity to it, as he checked the readouts on the workstation’s display. “I suppose congratulations are in order.” With his right hand, he pushed his glasses back up to the bridge of his nose.

Lore focused on the strange apparatus on Lucien’s face, but remained silent as the testing came to a conclusion.

“I foresee a possible Zee-Magnees Prize nomination in the future for you, Smith.” Edwin Matagaro laughed, “Or will you accept it under your real name, Soong?”

Doctor Soong shook his head as he unplugged Lore from the equipment, “I didn’t do this for any damn prize, and certainly not for the unappreciative cretins in the Federation.” He patted Lore on the back, between the shoulder blades, “No, this gift is for building the future of humanity.”

Ed Lucien mumbled, then spoke more clearly, “Soong, the problem with its cadence is just a slight mathematical timing issue. Unless you need this Lore to be a professional singer, I’d say don’t bother fixing it.”

“I suppose you’re right, Lucien.” Soong answered, “A few imperfections, here and there, will make him seem more human, anyway.”

The lab doors opened, admitting two children, both of whom rushed over to Ed Matagaro. Both children had short blonde hair and blue eyes similar to the scientist. “Father! Father!”

“Josh, don’t shout.” Matagaro smiled at the children, then spoke to to the quiet one, “What do you have in your hand, Jae?”

Jae held up two pieces of paper, each with a drawing on them. One drawing depicted simple human figures on what resembled a parrises squares court, with four participants wearing blue and four in red. The other drawing was similar, except the humans were represented with stick figures.

Lore stared intently at the simple drawings.

Josh grinned as he explained, “We drew the match for you, father. I wish Jae could play in it.”

“Jae is a few years too young for that game.” Matagaro accepted the drawings from his daughter and pinned them up on the message wall. “People have been known to get hurt or even killed in parrises squares.”

By this time, Jae had surveyed the lab and stared at Lore with interest. She lifted her right hand and pointed to the android.

Josh followed his sister’s motion, “Who is that?”

Ed Matagaro chuckled, “That is Lore. He’s an android. Doctor Soong activated him earlier this morning.”

Josh waved to Lore, “Hello.”

“Hello.” Lore replied, imitating the handwave.

Ed Matagaro herded the two children towards the door, “Now, I have a lot of work to do, still, so why don’t you two run along home? Thank you for the wonderful art.”

“Okay, father.” Josh replied, and then he and Jae ran back out into the corridor, with the doors shutting behind them.

Lore watched the children run off, then focused on Doctor Soong as the testing continued.

 

* * *

 

Juliana and Noonian sat across from each other at the table in their living quarters, with Lore seated at the foot of the table. As the husband and wife ate dinner and chatted, Lore watched them with interest. As each of them lifted sauteed greens to their mouths with a fork, inquisitive yellow eyes followed the movements of Noonian’s left hand and Juliana’s right hand.

“Now that you’ve succeeded, maybe I can go back to geology.” Juliana smiled, in-between bites. “I’m almost out of quartz, too. I was thinking of making more jewelry.”

Noonian smiled at Juliana, “Whatever you want to do. Making jewelry keeps you in practice for the finely detailed work of putting androids together, after all.” He beamed at Lore, “And to think that I have Ira Graves to thank. If I hadn’t worked with him on the synaptic scan technique, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to use that to create a ready-made personality.”

Juliana regarded Lore with delight, “It seems to have worked wonderfully.”

With an expression of sheer pride, Noonian gazed at the android. “Lore is an ultimate triumph and his immortal life will be an eternal tribute to me. A monument to my brilliance.”

“Of course, dear.” Juliana smiled as Lore began to mime using a fork, lifting food to his mouth and chewing. “Oh, how cute. He’s imitating eating.”

Noonian nodded, “That’s part of it. He learns by watching and imitating. I tell you, the future looks bright. I probably won’t even need to train him. He could just roam around the colony and learn.”

 

* * *

 Stardate: 12674.1

 

Tom Handy called out from his chair on the porch of the house, “Taking your artificial idiot out for a walk, Often Wrong?” His large abdomen shook with laughter.

Noonian Soong shook his head, “Ignore him, Lore.” He turned one hundred and eighty degrees, pulling Lore along with him, and walked along a central path to the East, towards the agricultural fields.

Lore’s yellow eyes glared at Tom Handy, but he obeyed. “As you wish, Father.”

Soong’s blue eyes lit up with delight, “You called me father.”

“I heard the other children call their biological male creators “father.” It seemed fitting for me to do so.” Lore replied as they continued to stroll along the path, “Father, why did that fat man laugh at us?”

“Jealousy, pure and simple, Lore.” Soong frowned, “Just pay him no mind. Old Tom Handy thinks he’s the big man because he’s one of the founders of this colony, but all that does is make him a fat fish in a tiny pond. I thought a walk outside would be nice, but now that I think better of it, I’ve decided I’d like you to remain in the bunker.”

Lore frowned at the words, “There is a lack of stimuli inside the bunker. I can experience much more out here.” His olfactory sensors picked up the faintest sweet fragrance of the blossoms from the quince trees lining the path between town and the farms.

Noonian remained silent for several minutes, then offered, “What if I ask Missy Bickel to teach you what she does? She works with all the communications and security equipment, and unlike some of these ignoramuses on the surface, she appreciates someone else’s achievements.”

“That would be acceptable to me, Father.” Lore replied, taking a moment to glance up at the clouds in the sky. His ears picked up the sound of someone singing, and he refocused his eyes in the direction of the sound.

“The sons of the prophet were valiant and bold and quite unaccustomed to fear… But of all the most reckless or so I am toooold, was Abdul Abulbul Amir.” A heavily tanned man in a wide-brimmed hat and dirty brown coveralls sang as he tended the trees. “There were brave men aplenty, all well known to fame, who served in the ranks of the Czar… bah bah bah bah bah bah bah bahbah bah bahbahhhh… Ivan Petrovsky Skavar…” He waved to the cyberneticist and android as they passed by.

Noonian returned the wave and smiled when Lore imitated the hand gestures. “Excellent, Lore. You’ve picked up on social interactions.”

“Who was that man, Father?” Lore glanced back as they passed, then turned his eyes forward once more.

Noonian brought Lore along to the South path, back towards the bunker, “That was Kiran Cooke. He runs the farms and deals with the agricultural genetics and modification. You won’t need to worry about things like food and eating.”

Lore raised an eyebrow as they moved closer to the hidden door, “You and Juliana seem to take pleasure in eating.”

“Yes, for us, it’s evolved that way, Lore.” Noonian answered, “But if we don’t eat, we can die. I gave you an ability to eat and drink, if you want to observe human customs, but it’s not imperative for you. You’ll never starve, never get dehydrated, never become ill, and, most of all, you’ll never die. I gave you all the strengths of being human, and none of the weaknesses.”

“Thank you, Father.” Lore’s mouth formed a wide smile as they returned to the underground bunker.

 

* * *

Stardate: 12784.8

 

Lore watched Missy Bickel, as the elderly woman opened a hidden panel in the wall and punched in an access code. As on most days, Missy had gathered her silver hair together into a loose bun on the lower back of her head, although Lore could see the flyaway strands that she had missed. Missy’s gait was uneven and stiff, but she remained ambulatory as she vanished through the door that opened. “Missy, are you old?”

Missy’s voice echoed from inside the small, hidden room, “I suppose I am, Lore. I’m surprised you waited a month to ask me that.”

“I wanted to wait until we’d reached a level of familiarity that affords more personal questions.” Lore responded, while he checked the communications equipment in the main area. “Missy, what’s in that room and why do you go in there twice a day?”

Missy stuck her head through the door, then smiled at Lore, “This is the colony’s security monitoring station. It used to be that someone was always manning the station, back in the beginning, but it’s a boring job and turns out that all we needed to do is have the computer run it, compress and archive each day, and keep the records. Other than the occasional dispute, we haven’t needed to use them. I just come in to check the long range sensors for weather reports in the morning and evening.” She shuffled back out of the room and typed the code into the panel, closing the door. “Our defense system is in there, too. The bunker has shields similar to a starship, if we need ‘em, but we haven’t, so far. This world has nothing anyone’d want, except for a handful of scientists looking to work in peace.”

“Peace.” Lore parroted the word. “If they want to work here in peace, why is there so much arguing amongst them? My auditory sensors are superior to that of a human’s, and every day, I hear people’s voices rising in volume as they argue and disagree. Some have even threatened the others.”

“Bickering’s just human nature, I’m afraid.” Missy patted Lore on his right shoulder. “Will you be a doll and check the tower? It’s nice to have someone else to do it. I’m getting too old to climb. I suppose I should look for another person willing to learn these systems.”

“Of course.” Lore nodded with his reply, then crossed the room to another door; A visible door, unlike the one leading to the security monitor room. He entered the small alcove and climbed the ladder to the hatch, which was easily opened. From the open hatch, Lore continued to climb the strong tower, checking for any signs of damage to the equipment. Once the arrays were all checked, Lore stopped at a platform halfway up the tower and stood at the railing on the western side.

The view from the platform afforded Lore a vantage point from which to observe the town, the arena, the farms and the far horizon. The faint sounds of children and teenagers traveled the distance to Lore’s ears, indicating that there was an activity currently in progress in the sporting arena. A sigh emitted from Lore’s lips and he climbed the ladder down to the alcove and closed the hatch above him.

Missy smiled as Lore returned, “Thank you. You can return to Doctor Soong, now. That’s all I need, for the day.”

“I’m glad I could be of service to you.” Lore bent at the waist and dipped in a slight bow to Missy. “A good evening to you, then, Missy.”

 

* * *

**Stardate 58537.3**

**Enterprise - Holodeck Four**

 

“Computer, pause program.” Captain Picard’s voice interrupted the holographic presentation, which froze around them. The visuals from Omicron Theta faded and the light gradually increased to allow the observers to see each other.

Data tilted his head inquisitively, “Is there something wrong, Captain?”

“Mister Data, has the away team found and checked that security room in the underground bunker?” Picard rubbed his chin as he frowned.

Data’s eyes widened in comprehension, “Not to my knowledge. It seems that there might be more to the underground bunker than we had discovered. This includes wherever it was that Doctor Soong activated Lore. That is not part of the laboratory in which we found Lore.”

“You’ll need my access code for the security room.” Lore offered, then spat out a thirty digit string of characters. “The Soong’s quarters and personal lab are through a door behind the first panel to the right of the cryogenic storage unit. All you need to get in are Soong’s or Juliana’s handprint. Data’s hand will activate it.”

Captain Louvois spoke, “I think we can call a recess for now and reconvene in three hours. That should give people time to eat or rest, and for an away team to locate the hidden rooms that are shown in Lore’s memories.”

“Thank you, Phillipa.” Picard smiled softly at Louvois, then tapped his combadge, “Commander La Forge… I will be sending Commander Data down to you. Please meet him at the underground bunker.”

Geordi La Forge’s voice emanated from the system, “All right, Captain. I’m on my way, now.”

Data leaned to give T’Mera a quick kiss, then walked swiftly to the exit.

Captain Picard, Captain Louvois and Doctor Crusher filed out shortly afterward, followed by Counselor Veluna.

Lore stood up and walked towards Lieutenant D’Sora, “Still think I’m informative?”

D’Sora gave Lore a lopsided smile, “Yes. So far, it doesn’t seem that bad.”

Lore’s eyebrows lowered as his expression grew grim, “What we just watched are my salad days. The real “meat”, so to speak, is coming. After that, a few “just desserts”.” He threw D’Sora a pained smile as he made his way back to the table. “Enjoy this respite. When it starts again, things will begin to get much, much worse.”


	24. Crouching Android, Hidden Chambers

**Stardate 58537.2**

 

Geordi La Forge waited at the entrance to the underground bunker, as the blue shimmering energy materialized into Commander Data. “So what’s this all about?”

Data dipped his head in the singular nod of greeting to his friend, “Lore’s memories have brought to our attention two hidden areas in the bunker that we need to search. My hand should give us access to Doctor Soong’s hidden quarters…”

Geordi chuckled, “You mean his “lair”?”

“His lair, indeed.” Data grinned, then entered the underground bunker, still speaking to Geordi as the two of them walked, “The other hidden area is a small room connected to the main communications center. Lore gave me the access code.” He led Geordi into the cybernetics lab and past the cryogenic storage area to the black panels in the rear of the room. “The doorway should be here, somewhere.”

Geordi La Forge ran his hand along the panel to the right of the cryogenic storage, “If there’s a hidden door here, it’s very cleverly concealed.”

Data reached out and placed his left hand on the black panel that displayed three side-facing humanoid figures. The panel slid sideways, disappearing into a pocket in the wall. “The last time I was here, I was so excited to have found a link with a form like my own that I neglected to search for hidden areas, even though we were aware that the bunker’s outer doors were constructed in such a way as to be camouflaged.” He lowered his right eyebrow two millimeters, then walked through the doorway.

“Data, don’t forget we were in a rush and just stopping here for a couple of hours. We also didn’t know that much about Doctor Soong, at the time.” Geordi followed the android through the connecting corridor, then whistled as he entered the next room. “Clutter, books, toys… this is more like what he had on Terlina III.”

“I am going to make a visual record.” Data held out his tricorder, scanning the entire room, “We will leave everything undisturbed for now.”

“Good idea.” Geordi’s blue optical implants gazed around the area, “There’s nothing unusual here, as far as I can see.” He followed Data to the next corridor.

Data moved through the corridor, into a rock-lined passage which led out into a cavernous area. “This is where Doctor Soong’s escape shuttle would have been.” He moved to stand in front of a slanted storage area. “This storage unit is similar to the one in which we discovered Lore. The same three tiers, with fitted partitions for the body parts. All of these are empty.”

Geordi pressed his lips together, then moved to stand next to Data. “Maybe this was where they stashed B-4?” He surveyed the area, “Most of the metal’s been taken. I’d say someone was here, sometime after the Crystalline Entity left, and scavenged for anything else of value.”

“I will ask Doctor Tainer and hope that she knows which android was contained in this unit.” Data frowned and turned to head back to the laboratory, “Given that Lore was unaware of the existence of prototypes, he would most likely not know who was stored here. B-4 has no memories prior to his awakening on Kolarus III, so he would be of little help in this matter.” As they headed back to the hidden lair, Data had to use his hand to gain access, “This would explain why the central room was not touched. It is protected by Soong’s specific access.”

Geordi tailed Data as they backtracked through the hidden lair to the lab, and then out into the wide main corridor of the underground bunker. “You would think he would have protected everything, not just his quarters.”

“It could be that the main cybernetics lab and the shuttle bay were considered colony public property. I do not know how they conducted their operations.” Data opened the door to the communications center, then looked around the room. “Ah. I see where the panel is.” He walked to one side of the room, then pushed two racks of equipment aside. He opened the panel hiding the numeric keypad and with his right hand, rapidly typed in the thirty digits spoken by Lore earlier.

“That’s some access code.” Geordi commented.

Data’s lips curled with amusement, “I would say “Open Sesame”, if I were making an attempt at humor.”

Geordi shook his head with an amused chuckle and entered the small room. “Whoa! Quite a setup they had.”

Data moved inside the room and checked the console in the center of the multiple displays. “These systems have been functioning the entire eighty years since they were installed.”

With a wince, Geordi bent to examine the storage units. “This is a lot of archived information. I sure hope they were using a good recognition algorithm, or else we’ll be fishing through a ton of nothing in order to find useful recordings.” After a few more moments, “They used standard compression for archiving. That makes things a bit easier.”

Data typed in a few commands, “Most of the external cameras connected to this center are now covered with layers of dust. That leaves only the internal cameras as the source of recorded footage in the aftermath of the Crystalline Entity’s attack. It also looks as if recordings were made on a detection basis and were not a simple, continuous feed.”

“Geez, this setup didn’t leave anyone much privacy on the colony.” Geordi straightened up, then glanced at his friend, “Is there anything in specific you want from all this?”

“Yes.” Data answered, his face a mask of neutrality. “We need evidence that Lore and I were active at the same time, and an accounting for exactly how long a duration for each of us. If possible, I would like to find any security footage pertaining to the Soongs’ escape. I will compile a listing of stardates for any events in question.”

Geordi nodded, “I’ll get an isolinear storage unit and transfer everything to the Enterprise computer, so it doesn’t interfere with the work going on down here. Should I assign someone to index the footage, or do you want it sent to T’Mera?”

“I am concerned that T’Mera is overworked, so it would be best if someone quickly indexes the footage by stardate and sends those to Doctor Chipman.” Data pressed his lips together, “She can use the results to cross-reference against Lore’s memories and to fill in the gaps of important events that Lore was not present to bear witness to, as well as to find out for certain if Doctor Tainer’s memory engrams are becoming unreliable.”

“Yeah.” Geordi frowned, then leaned against the wall of the security room. “If that’s the case, can she be fixed? Or, should the question be how can she be fixed without letting it slip to her that she’s an android?”

Data’s eyes oscillated as he considered possibilities, “While there are a few ways to deactivate a Soong-type android, I would like to use the least disruptive method. If we modify a tricorder to shut down her actuation servos, that should have the effect of knocking her unconscious. Yet, I am not certain it is right to do this.”

“If she’s malfunctioning, shouldn’t she be fixed?” Geordi lifted his right hand to scratch at his goatee.

Data hesitated for a moment before answering, “It is possible that her memory loss is a part of Doctor Soong’s programming. He did say that he programmed her to terminate after a long life.”

Geordi shook his head, “Yeah, but Data, she’s in her seventies. That’s hardly a long life for a human.”

“I should have listened to Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher.” Data lamented, “Had I told her the truth, back when we discovered that Father transferred her into an artificial body, she would be aware of her android existence and we could simply check her systems for malfunctions without needing to resort to clandestine methods. My decision to continue my father’s deception in this matter has returned to gnaw me in the posterior.”

“You were trying to do what was best for her.” Geordi moved next to Data and placed a hand on his shoulder, “Data, you made that decision based on the idea that Doctor Tainer would be unhappy to be an android, right?”

“That is correct.” Data tilted his head as he looked back into Geordi’s eyes. “Counselor Troi felt that, if I told her the truth, I would be robbing her of what I have wanted all my life… to be human.”

“But unlike you, Doctor Tainer really was human.” Geordi replied, “Just because being human meant a lot to you doesn’t mean it meant as much to her. Look at T’Mera. She doesn’t seem unhappy to me. Heck, didn’t Doctor Graves try to steal your body to avoid dying? Maybe Doctor Tainer would be okay with the idea of having her life extended artificially. Maybe she’d understand why Doctor Soong transferred her into an android body. She married the guy, after all. So, she probably knew him well enough to know he’d do something like that.”

Data directed his eyes to the floor, “I will have to deliberate on the best way of telling her the truth and hope that it does not deactivate her permanently.” He looked back at his friend, “Thank you, Geordi.”

Geordi patted Data’s shoulder, then let his hand drop to his side again, “Any time, Data. Lemme get to work on this, and I’ll have the information transferred to T’Mera in about an hour.”

“All right, Geordi.” Data turned to exit the security room, “I will return to the ship.” After the nod of acknowledgement from La Forge, Data walked out into the corridor, then through the Southern entrance of the bunker to the surface of the planet. He tapped his combadge, “Data, to Enterprise. One to beam up.” The blue shimmering energy of the transporter surrounded him, returning him to the ship.

 

* * *

 

Commander Data was the first of the observers to return to Holodeck Four. He dipped his head in greeting to Lieutenant D’Sora, then walked over to kiss T’Mera, “Greetings.”

T’Mera returned Data’s kiss, “Greetings to you, too.”

Lore looked up from the PADD he held in his hands, “Hello, dear brother. Did you find what you went looking for?”

“Yes, Lore.” Data replied as he took his seat at the table. “The security recordings will need to be extracted in order for T’Mera to compare them to your memories and then add them to the holographic presentation.”

Lore put down the PADD, then regarded his brother, “You’re absolutely sure you don’t have any memories of your own from the colony?”

“I am quite certain, Lore.” Data responded, “I have a few memory remnants of having my functions tested and having the colonists’ journals hurriedly downloaded into my memory banks. My final memory remnant is a sense of great danger, something sudden and not understood... then a blank as if the colonists were gone. The memories are nebulous at best.”

“The crew of the Tripoli didn’t think you were a monster?” Lore leaned back in the chair.

“No.” Data leaned forward, resting his forearms on the table and interlacing his fingers. “Starfleet crewmembers are used to encountering lifeforms unlike themselves. While they did not think of me as a monster, neither was I seen as a sentient being. To most of them, I was merely an android, nothing more than a sophisticated machine with human form. As soon as it was possible, they transferred me to a lab where I was studied and tested, until such time as I was deemed to be alive.”

“When you created Lal, how was she treated?” Lore tapped the border of the PADD in front of him.

“Lal’s reception… was not what I had anticipated.” A pensive expression clouded Data’s face as he elaborated. “The initial reactions of Geordi, Counselor Troi and Wesley Crusher could be summed up as stunned silence. Captain Picard was dismayed and had objections, which I had thought to be unfair at the time, but when Admiral Haftel became involved, I realized what it was that had caused the Captain to worry.” Data paused for a few seconds, then continued, “The general reaction among the crew ranged from curiosity to amusement, especially before Lal had chosen her appearance. The most sizable difficulty was due to Lal’s inability to understand the nuances of social interaction, most notably with children. There was a small degree of fear and unkind laughter, in that regard.”

Lore’s voice softened, “Her appearance was more realistic than ours, wasn’t it?”

“Yes. If she had been able to develop her social skills, I am certain that she would have passed for human.” Data replied, then looked at Lore. “Is there a reason you are inquiring about these matters?”

“I’m just trying to put the reaction of the colonists on Omicron Theta into perspective.” Lore lifted his legs to place his feet on the table.

T’Mera turned from her work and offered, “In my opinion, the colonists might have been predisposed to hating anything Soong made. There was quite an adversarial environment on Omicron Theta, from what I’ve seen. Soong could have made the galaxy’s best Ktarian Chocolate Puff and they probably would have hated it just because he made it.”

Lore smiled at T’Mera, “Excellent point, Doctor Chipman. How are your protocols coming?”

“I have the initial demo written, but it most likely won’t work.” T’Mera replied. “To test it, I’d have to call B-4 and have him go into one of the Holostations there.”

“You should see if he’s available.” Lore rocked his chair back a bit, “I’m curious as to how his hearing concluded.”

“As am I.” Data added. “My mental pathways still sense the absence of his proximity.”

Lore snorted, “How come you miss him, but you never missed me?”

“B-4 gives me something to miss, Lore.” Data retorted with an upward turn of the right side of his mouth.

Lore rolled his eyes, removed his feet from the table and sat straight in the chair, “Maybe we can find out if B-4 has any memories from the colony.”

“All right.” T’Mera announced. “He’s heading to Holostation One at the institute and we’ll initiate a short holo-communication as soon as he gets it set up.”

Data twiddled his thumbs as they waited, “I doubt he has any memories from the colony. The Remans were fairly thorough at erasing most of his memory engrams. He knew his name, had a decent vocabulary and was able to ask and answer very simple questions, but not much more than that.”

T’Mera tapped on her console, “Here he is.” She stood to meet the holographic representation of B-4. “Live long and prosper, B-4.” She held up her right hand in the Vulcan salute.

B-4 imitated the salute, “Hello, T’Mera.” He waved to his android brothers, “Hello, Data. Hello, Lore.”

“Greetings, B-4.” Data smiled, “How are you?”

“I’m fine and functioning in normal parameters.” B-4’s eyes alternated between each brother, “How is everything here?”

Data replied, “Everything has gone as planned, so far. What was the outcome of your hearing?”

“Oh!” B-4 snapped his fingers, “I’ve been declared sentient and a citizen of the Federation. I will need to choose a real name for myself.”

T’Mera edged nearer to B-4, then moved to embrace him. “Congratulations.” She added, “Careful. I’m testing out the long-distance tactile protocols. Do you feel the hug?”

“My sensors are detecting your touch.” B-4 answered and wrapped his arms around T’Mera.

T’Mera released B-4, then slipped her hand into the left leg pocket of his jumpsuit. Her hand phased through the material in a ghost-like fashion. “Ah well. I didn’t expect everything to work perfectly on the first try. And there’s the transfer from Omicron Theta’s Big Brother room. B-4, please chat with your brothers for a bit, while I work on verification.”

“Okay.” B-4 moved to stand by the table.

Data smiled at the prototype, “B-4, what is the first thing you can remember?”

“Opening my eyes. Looking into the eyes of myself.” B-4 grinned at Data. “I wondered why I was looking at me.” His face took on a slightly sad expression, “I wondered where my body was.” He turned to face Lore, “It was Data who picked up my head.”

Lore drummed the fingers of his right hand on the surface of the table, “I gathered that.”

“Data said the word fascinating.” B-4 continued, “So I also said ‘Fascinating.’ Then, there were loud explosions and dirt flying around and Captain Picard’s head was shiny and when I began to ask questions, Data put my head in a box.”

This time, Data offered the explanation to Lore, “We had come under fire and B-4 was distracting the Captain.”

Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek for a moment, “I gathered that, as well.”

B-4 continued reminiscing, “Then my head was put on a pole and a red-haired woman declared that Data has nicer eyes than I have.”

“The three of us have identical eyes.” Lore growled at the prototype.

In a sudden, jerky motion, a dark grey ball of fur launched itself from B-4’s left pocket. “Toto!” He ran to retrieve the toy tribble.

T’Mera looked back at B-4, winced, then turned back to her display, “Well, that was a lot of latency. I’ll have to adjust for it.”

Lore raised an eyebrow, “Why do you have a ball of lint in your pocket?”

B-4 stroked Toto as he picked it up from the floor, “This is my toy tribble, not lint.”

Data peered at B-4, “There is something else in your pocket, as well.” He unlaced his fingers and placed both hands on the table surface.

B-4 reached into the pocket and pulled out a metal spork. “It’s a spoon, but it has fork ends.”

Lore shook his head, “What is it with you and spoons?”

“They’re tiny shovels the humans use to scoop up a small amount of food and then perform repeated and incremental inputs of food into their mouths.” B-4’s face lit up with joy and amusement. “Why don’t they just lift the bowl or plate to their mouth? Or lower their head to eat directly from the bowl or plate? They added an extra step. It’s intriguing!”

Both Data and Lore stared at B-4 in silence, until Lore finally spoke. “Have you been snorting fine grind quadratanium or something?” He sighed, “Nevermind. So, you have no memories or even memory remnants of the Omicron Theta colony where the three of us were built?”

“Correct.” B-4 answered. “I’m sorry, Lore.” He slipped Toto and the spork back into his pocket.

Lore leaned against the backrest of the chair, “You don’t have to be sorry, B-4. It’s probably best that you don’t remember any of it.”

“If Mother’s memory gets worse, you will be the only one who remembers, Lore.” Data stated in a voice tinged with regret.

“Does she have a switch on her back?” Lore asked, then gestured with his left hand, “If so, just pretend to hug her and shut her off. Then fix her.”

“I am still struggling with the ethical parameters of deactivating her without her consent.” Data began to absently tap the index finger of his right hand. “I need to rectify my previous error and somehow tell Doctor Tainer the truth of her existence. How do I explain to her that I was deliberately lying? I colluded with Father in deception, even though I did so with the best of intentions.”

B-4 tilted his head and stared into an unseen distance, then mused, “If the road to hell is paved with good intentions, does that mean the road to heaven is paved with bad intentions?”

Lore stared intently at B-4, “Thank you for the philosophical interlude, Bit for Brains…” then looked over at Data, “If you want, I’ll tell her. What’s one more chunk of anguish from me on the pile, after all?”

Data shook his head, “No, Lore. I will think of a way to do it. It is my mistake, and I will face the consequence.”

“No, Data.” Lore slammed his hands on the table, “It was Father’s mistake and you simply got caught up in it. I’m Father’s mistake.” He pointed to a startled B-4, “He’s Father’s mistake. You’ve been suffering for all of Often Wrong’s mistakes.”

Data raised both eyebrows in contemplation, then gave his brother a sharp nod. “Perhaps. In Klingon culture, the son pays for the sins of the father. I suppose it is the same in our own particular android culture.”

“I know you will do the right thing, Data.” B-4 moved to Data’s side and cautiously placed a hand on his youngest brother’s shoulder, “You’re very smart, and you’ll figure out the proper way.” Something caught his attention, then he returned his gaze to the two androids at the table, “It’s time for me to go back to studying. I will call in fifteen days, for my update.”

Data blinked in surprise at the feel of B-4’s hand on his shoulder. “Thank you, B-4. It was good to see you.”

“It was good to see you, too.” B-4 moved towards Lore. “And you, Lore.”

Lore frowned at B-4, “You don’t need to be polite to me. I tried to hurt your woman. You’re justified in hating me.”

“I don’t hate you, Lore. I think you’re stuck, and I feel bad that you are.” B-4 spoke in a quiet warble.

“Explain.” Lore focused his eyes on B-4’s.

B-4’s eyes betrayed the sadness within, “You have been angry for so long, and you’re used to only one type of input from others. That creates a strong pathway. It can become familiar, and then familiarity becomes a comfortable routine, even if it is not what you desire. When anger and hate is the only input you receive, the pathway is so solidly formed that it might become permanent. At that point, anger is all you can handle and understand, even when it’s caused so much damage to you.”

Lore turned away, averting his eyes from B-4. “You’d better go. See you next time.”

“Goodbye, Lore. Goodbye, T’Mera.” B-4 walked a few feet away from the table and reached out into the air, then vanished from Holodeck Four.

Lore grumbled, then folded his arms across his chest, “He’s supposed to be the slow one.”

“Slow is not the equivalent of wrong, Lore.” Data offered, “B-4 has been studying many things at Daystrom, just as if he were a human child attending school. I suppose he has picked up philosophy and psychology.”

“Along with the subject of spoons.” Lore’s mood broke and he chuckled. His attention was diverted to the holodeck doors opening. “Ah, it looks as if the intermission is over and act two is about to begin.”

Captain Picard, Captain Louvois, Doctor Crusher and Counselor Veluna approached the table and took their seats.

Captain Picard settled into his chair, “Is everything ready from the transfer, Doctor Chipman?”

T’Mera nodded to the Captain. “I just finished integrating it, right before you walked in.”

Captain Louvois waited for Captain Picard’s cue, then spoke succinctly, “The viewing of the Omicron Theta holographic presentation will now resume.”

At the conclusion of Captain Louvois’ words, the lighting in the holodeck faded to black.


	25. The Emotion Twisted

***Trigger warnings: abusive behavior, violence against children**

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 12825.4

 

Lore found it easy to sneak out of the bunker. He wasn’t expected at the communications center, Juliana was polishing stones, and Doctor Soong seemed to be designing a new project. He exited through the Northern doorway and followed the path West towards the sports arena. As he approached the complex, he noticed three boys heading towards him on the walkway. The strange clothing they wore intrigued him, and he studied them in greater detail.

Two of the boys wore matching shiny red clothing with the left side of their bodies covered by black padding. A black belt held the left side padding to their torso and left leg, while just the elbow and knee were padded on the right side of the body. Thick black boots adorned their feet. He recognized one of the boys in red as Josh Matagaro. The second boy in red had hazel eyes and long brown hair tied back in a ponytail. The third boy wore the type of casual clothing that most of the colonists’ children wore, and had a metal and plastic apparatus over his eyes; The boy’s dark curly hair, dark eyes and general facial and body traits made Lore conclude that the child was related to Ed Lucien.

Benny stopped walking upon seeing Lore, “Who the heck is that?”

Josh Matagaro piped up, “That’s Doctor Soong’s robot, Benny. His name is Lore.”

“He doesn’t look like a robot.” The child with dark, curly hair peered up at Lore. “But he doesn’t look all human, either. He looks creepy.”

Benny smirked, “He looks like a monster! I bet I could scare my sister with stories about him.”

Lore frowned and closed the distance between himself and the children, “I’m not a monster or a robot. I’m an android.”

Josh shifted the weight of his bag to his left shoulder, “Lore, this is Benny Detoronto and Ayden Lucien. Ayden’s father works with Doctor Soong, just like my father does.”

“I’ve met Doctor Lucien.” Lore replied, then his yellow eyes oscillated, “Detoronto… He is a vintner on the colony.” He focused his gaze on Benny, “Benjamin Detoronto, age ten.” 

Benny grinned and elbowed Josh, “Spooky! What kind of commands does he take?”

Josh scratched at a scar on his left cheek, “Hmm. I didn’t see him take any. I think he had just been finished when we walked into the lab.”

Lore regarded all three boys evenly, “What is the purpose of the matching clothing?”

Josh looked down at his outfit, “These are parrises squares uniforms. Benny and I are on the same team in the children’s division.”

Benny’s mouth upturned on the right side in a sardonic smirk, “Yeah. Ayden’s not on the team because he’s a loser, but Josh and I are important.”

Ayden frowned, then retorted, “Well, my dad says it’s a good thing your father is a vintner, because the whole lot of your family are whiners.”

Benny laughed, “See?” He reached out and shoved Ayden, “You should count yourself lucky we let you hang out with us, Lucien.”

Lore turned his neck an inch to the left, “What’s “hang out”?”

Josh replied to Lore, while moving away from Benny and Ayden, “It means being with others. In a group or something, among other people you belong with. It beats being alone.” 

“Who do I belong with?” Lore’s eyes widened with hope.

“Nobody, I guess.” Josh answered, “There’s no other androids running around.” 

Lore smiled at the boys, “May I be on the team and have a uniform like that?”

Benny guffawed, throwing his head back, “We’re kids. You have a grown-up’s body, so you’d have to be on the grown-up teams. If they even let you on.” He looked at the other two boys, “I wish we could have the robot on our team. Then we’d always win.”

“Isn’t that cheating?” Josh shifted the weight of his bag, again.

Ayden piped up, “My dad says that it’s only cheating if anyone sees you.”

Benny smirked, “Your dad would say that. Doesn’t he also say everything is legal if you don’t get caught?”

“Yep.” Ayden answered. “But you’d be caught if you have the robot on your team. He’s kind of obvious.” He looked at the path leading into the town, “I better go, or else my dad’ll give me hell.”

“Yeah, you better.” Benny sneered, “When your dad’s mad, we can hear him yelling all the way up at the vineyard.”

Ayden stalked off, “You know where you can shove your grapes, Benny.” 

Benny turned to walk along the path leading North, “Screw you, Lucien.”

“I should get home, too.” Josh waved as he turned to go, “Bye, Lore.”

Lore imitated the wave, “Bye.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate 12838.9

 

Some days, Lore’s furtive strolls took him past the school, where he watched the colony’s twenty-eight children in their matching school uniforms as they sat at their desks and worked on the terminals in front of them. At times, he would wait for their outdoor play hour and listen to them interact while they engaged in unstructured activities. Today, Lore chose to walk to the farm fields and accompany Kiran Cooke on his rounds. 

Kiran’s wide-brimmed hat shaded his face as he sprayed a mixture on the plants. As he and Lore traveled up and down the rows, Kiran imparted his particular wisdom, “Plants seem peaceful, but they’re all fighting a silent war, the roughest of anything alive. Plants will gladly crowd each out other, greedily monopolize the space where the best sunshine is, and soak up water as fast as possible. Like most lifeforms, it’s a matter of survival of the fittest. Here I am, adding to it. I’m genetically modifying plants to make them stronger.”

“Is that also a technique for modifying humans?” Lore asked, pausing for a moment to gently touch the leaves of one of the plants.

“Oh my, no.” Kiran answered, “That was tried. They called it Eugenics. No, as far as mankind’s concerned, it’s best for us to just evolve naturally.”

“Is Tom Handy the strongest human on the colony?” Lore smiled along with his inquiry. “He seems to be the leader.”

“That scobblelotcher? No.” Kiran grunted. “He’s just the only one willing to do the job.”

“Hmm.” Lore mused. “So, all that’s needed is for someone smarter, stronger and more willing to do the job to come along and replace him.”

“Pretty much.” Kiran responded, then finished spraying. “If you want, you can come help me check for ripe berries.”

“I would like to come check for ripe berries.” Lore’s mouth widened into an over-eager toothy grin.

 

* * *

 

Stardate 12849.7

Lore stood in his alcove, leaning back against the wall while curved metal rods encircled his body. The rods were unlocked, leaving Lore unrestrained. He let his head loll slightly to the right and disabled his blinking simulation. Doctor Soong had left earlier in the day, but had charged Juliana with keeping an eye on Lore, so there had been no chance for Lore to slip out of the underground bunker and go exploring. From the alcove, Lore could view the entire quarters, with the exception of the bedroom, so he faked deactivation in order to quietly observe Juliana polishing rocks.

The door from the shuttlebay opened, allowing a silver-haired woman entrance to the living quarters. “Juliana?”

Juliana looked up from her work, “Here, Mother. How are you?”

Doctor O’Donnell cautiously walked inside, letting the door slide behind her. She looked around warily, “Where is that man?”

“He’s at a meeting.” Juliana moved to meet her mother and impart a quick peck on the cheek, “He won’t be back for at least an hour.”

“Good.” Doctor O’Donnell returned the kiss, then seated herself at the worktable. She startled upon seeing Lore. “Oh, goodness, is he still working on that thing?”

Juliana sighed as she moved to stand by the replicator, “That’s Lore and he’s all finished. I suppose Noonian shut him off so he wouldn’t wander outside. Would you like a drink?”

“A cup of tea would be nice.” Doctor O’Donnell created deep creases in her forehead as she frowned. “He’s insane.”

“Two cups of Troyian Red Tea, hot.” Juliana brought both mugs to the table, set one down in front of her mother, then returned to her own seat. “He’s not insane.”

“No, you’re right.” Doctor O’Donnell blew across the surface of the hot liquid, then took a few sips. “He’s worse than insane. He’s absolutely criminal. I used to worry that he was just an eccentric old fool, until he stole away with you and convinced you to elope.”

Juliana lowered her chin very slightly, “We thought it would give you time to get used to us being together.”

“He probably put it to you that way.” Doctor O’Donnell chided. “What was the rush to get married? You were so young. What kind of a man whisks a twenty-one year old girl off-planet to marry him, when he’s in his fifties, and tells her that elopement will gain her mother’s approval? And for all that hurry, it’s been eight years of marriage and have you given me any grandchildren? No. Just that…” She waved her hand dismissively towards Lore. “... youthful uncanny valley copy of my son-in-law.”

“Mother, Lore is proof that Noonian’s design works.” Juliana snapped in reply, “Sometimes, I think I’m the only one who sees his brilliance.”

“You’re the only one who’s blinded by love. In love with a man who couldn’t even reveal his real name when he arrived here.” Doctor O’Donnell sighed and drank more of the tea. “At least you’re still interested in geology and stones, instead of just circuitry and artificial intelligence.”

“I find both fields interesting, Mother.” Juliana took a long sip of her tea, then set the mug down. “Noonian’s been quite pleased with my ability to work on tiny microcircuitry.” She wiggled the fingers of her right hand, “He says I’m very nimble-fingered.”

Doctor O’Donnell grunted at her daughter, “I swear, this colony has turned into a bad melodrama. Illicit affairs, hidden marriages, criminal scientists with fake names, the Marrs…”

“Really, Mother.” Juliana frowned, “Are you still on about that whole thing? It was almost fourteen years ago. Nobody cares who Renny’s father is.”

Doctor O’Donnell snorted at her daughter, “I still care, because there’s a man among us who fathered a child by a fourteen year old girl and then hid from his responsibility. But, I suppose he’s in good company. It’s too bad Kila won’t allow a DNA scan.”

“That’s her right, and in my opinion, she did a fine job in raising Renny.” Juliana countered. “I hear she’s considering leaving the colony in order to pursue a career in xenology, now that Renny’s old enough to be able to manage without his mother.”

Doctor O’Donnell sipped the tea, then sighed, “All of us should consider leaving this colony. It was a fine idea, but in practice, it’s turned into a cesspool of the unscrupulous.”

“You’re blowing everything up out of proportion, Mother.” Juliana rubbed at the bridge of her nose. 

“I don’t believe I am.” Doctor O’Donnell countered. “Take your husband, for example. Did you ever find out why he changed his name and hid?”

Juliana frowned and stared into her mug of tea. “He says it’s nothing to worry about and nothing I need to know.”

“Juliana O’Donnell…” Doctor O’Donnell leaned forward and set her mug down on the table, “The only reason someone would change their name and run is when they’ve done something they need to hide from. A man capable of doing so would have no problem lying to his wife or hiding things from her, as well. I wish you’d have listened to me.” She studied her daughter for a moment, “At least I get moments like this, to come see you.”

Juliana pressed her lips together, “I enjoy seeing you, Mother. I just wish you could learn to accept Noonian.”

Doctor O’Donnell frowned, “It’s difficult to accept someone whose answer to my disapproval was to lie to me and convince my daughter to do the same. Such things don’t tend to earn my trust. I’ve accepted the fact that you ignored my warnings and you went along with his cockamamie plan.” She stood without ceremony, “Thank you for the tea. I should get back home before your husband returns.”

Juliana set her own mug down and got up from her chair, “Thank you for visiting, Mother. No matter how you feel about him, you’re always welcome here.”

Doctor O’Donnell leaned in for a quick peck on her daughter’s cheek, “And, no matter what, you’ll always be my little girl.” She turned and walked out through the doors leading into the shuttle bay. 

Juliana sighed in frustration and returned to polishing rocks. 

Lore decided to speak, “She’s right, you know.”

Juliana let out a shriek and dropped the stone. “Lore! Don’t do that! You nearly gave me a heart attack. I thought Noonian had left you deactivated.”

Lore shook his head, “No. I just have nowhere to go, right now. But your mother is correct. Humans tend to repeat patterns of behavior.”

Juliana inhaled deeply, composed herself, then picked up the stone and resumed polishing its surface, “The heart and the brain aren’t always in sync, Lore. My mother only sees the bad parts of Noonian. I see his brilliance and his tender sides. He can be very sweet, when he wants to be. I do everything I can to make him happy.”

“Is that love?” Lore tilted his head inquisitively.

Juliana nodded to Lore, “Yes, I think it is. I hope you’re able to experience love, someday.”

Lore pondered her words, then answered, “I hope so, as well.” He fell silent once more, watching her transform dull stones into shiny gems.

 

* * *

 

Stardate 12876.7

 

Something hit Lore in his back and he stopped moving. His auditory sensors detected muffled laughter from behind some nearby bushes and he turned to face his attackers. Three young boys hid behind the shrubs by the path, unaware that the android could see and hear them. Lore looked down at the ground and spotted the small rock which had served as the projectile. Within moments, he identified the boys.

“Anthony Petrus, age nine. Jojo Reitz, age eight. Lewis Magoin, age nine.” Lore stared directly at the three boys through the bushes.

“Crap!” Anthony was the first to stand up, “Go away, monster!” He hurled a handful of rocks at Lore. The other two boys joined in throwing stones. 

The stones bounced harmlessly off Lore’s body, and he smiled. “Ah, a game!” He bent to gather a handful of the rocks at his feet, then flung them back at the boys with greater strength and accuracy than the boys had shown.

High-pitched screams and shrieks emitted from the boys as the rocks found their targets. Jojo dropped to the ground and, after the initial cry, went silent. Anthony’s hand covered his left eye as blood began to run down the left side of his face. Lewis grabbed Anthony’s hand and ran in the direction of the town, with both boys sobbing at high volume.

Lore watched as the two boys disappeared down the other path. “I guess that means I won.” He grinned and continued walking on his original path.

 

* * *

 

Stardate 12903.2

 

Evelynn Lucien ran her fingers over Lore’s hand, “It’s soft and warm, almost like flesh. You have pores, too. Interesting.” She retracted her hand, “Thank you for letting me satisfy my curiosity.”

“You’re welcome.” Lore mumbled in reply, then looked across the colony from atop the platform on the West side of the communications array tower. 

“Funny, isn’t it?” Evelynn broke the short silence. “From up here, it all looks so peaceful. You’d hardly know the vitriol everyone carries around.”

“Everyone?” Lore tilted his head to observe Evelynn.

“Well, maybe not Mister Cooke or Ms. Bickel.” Evelynn replied, “They’re still blissfully unaware.”

Lore gritted his teeth, “Vitriol about me.”

Evelynn shook her head, “Everyone was angry before you were made. You just give them something new to be mad about. At least none of the kids have died, so far, right?”

“They didn’t die, because I wasn’t trying to kill them.” Lore replied with gritted teeth. “All I wanted to do was walk around without having rocks thrown at me or having humans call me names. Now I’m not allowed to walk around the colony without a human escort, but everyone’s too afraid of me to accompany me.”

“I’d go with you.” Evelynn tilted her head and studied Lore’s face.

Lore turned to focus his bright yellow eyes on her, “Why aren’t you afraid of me?”

Evelynn shrugged, “I guess I’m easygoing? I’m used to being around someone who’s angry? My dad helped work on your programming, so I figure there’s some failsafe in you for not killing humans. They always put that in.”

A tight-lipped, broad smile spread over Lore’s face, “Nope. It’s not in there.”

Evelynn blinked and her eyes widened, “Wow. That’s supposed to be one of your primary subroutines.”

Lore’s smile softened, replaced by a less sinister version, “I can’t locate any subroutine that restricts me from harming or killing humans. Do you still want to offer to accompany me?”

“Sure.” Evelynn smiled back at Lore, “After all, you could kill me anywhere. Right here. When I work with Missy. If you get it in your mind to kill me, it won’t matter what we’re doing, so I may as well walk with you and keep you out of trouble, if I can.”

“Beggars can’t be choosers.” Lore answered, “I accept your offer. I’d already figured out a loophole, in case nobody wanted to be with me.”   
  
“Oh?” Evelynn’s eyebrows raised slightly, “What’s the loophole?”

“Handy said I’m not allowed to walk around the colony unsupervised.” Lore smirked, “But if I leave through the South door, I can wander around in the wilds beyond the settlement. There are still things I can explore beyond the human territory.”

Evelynn nodded to Lore’s statement, “I guess if there’s no one there to see you, then you’re not breaking any rules.”

“Exactly.” Lore looked out at the horizon, “That’s how things work. When you’re unobserved, everything you do is allowed.”

Evelynn snorted, “The motto of the colony. Enjoy yourself on lovely Omicron Theta: Just don’t get caught.”

Lore regarded the girl sitting next to him, then declared, “You have a good sense of humor. I think I won’t kill you.”

“I feel privileged.” Evelynn gave Lore a quick smile, then got to her knees and placed her feet on the rungs of the ladder. “Thanks for not killing me. I’m going to head back down, before Missy thinks I fell off.”

“I’ll be down in ten minutes.” Lore rested his arms on the railing. “I want to sit by myself for a while.”

Evelynn started the downward climb, “All right, Lore. Enjoy the peace.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate 12943.6

 

Lore found himself wanting to work in the communication center with Missy and Evelynn, as it served as a place of tranquility for him. Both of the humans treated Lore with respect and acted as if they enjoyed his company, and from within the anechoic chamber, he was spared the constant stream of backbiting and squabbling in the rest of the bunker’s science labs.

Missy stood by the smaller rack of equipment near the security control center, “Lore, will you monitor the subspace frequencies? I want to run this test of the wide-band transceivers.”

Lore nodded his head once to the woman, “Very well.” His auditory sensors were far superior to her aging ears, and he could detect faint resonant waves that seemed to have some sort of pattern to them.

“Ohey!” Evelynn noticed the pensive expression on Lore’s face and moved to stand next to him, “What is it?”

Lore removed the earpiece from his ear and held it out to Evelynn, “I hear an odd sound in the background.”

Evelynn frowned as she inserted the earpiece into her right ear. After a few minutes, she shook her head, “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be hearing.”

“There’s a repeating pattern.” Lore told the girl, “Intermittent and resonant, in the graviton wave band.”

Evelynn listened again, checked the waveform readings on the display, then shook her head once more, “I’m sorry, Lore. I don’t hear it. It must be outside of human hearing range.” She removed the earpiece and offered it back to him.

Lore took the earpiece back, reinserting it into his own ear. “It’s very faint, but it’s there. I’ll work on deciphering it.”

Evelynn flashed a smile at Lore, “Enjoy solving the mystery. When we’re done here, if you want, we can go for a walk.”

“I’d like that.” Lore replied, then turned his attention back to the strange, resonant wave patterns.


	26. Entangled With Ambition

***Trigger warnings: descriptions of abusive behavior**

**Omicron Theta**

 

Stardate 13062.4

 

“We shouldn’t be doing this.” Evelynn whispered, even though she and Lore were the only ones in the communication center.

Lore stood by the console, allowing Evelynn to be seated on the lone stool in the hidden security room. “I don’t recall any instructions that forbid us to be here. In fact, the only reference that Missy made was that, at one point in the past, this position was manned around the clock, and was given up due to boredom.”

Evelynn glanced around at the variety of monitors, “Still, we’re watching everyone without anyone knowing. Missy didn’t exactly give you the code to get in here, right?”

Lore smirked, “She knows I’m an android, so if she didn’t try to hide the panel code, that’s the same as giving me permission.”

“Consent by absence of prohibition?” Evelynn winked at Lore, then shook her head, “You’ve been listening to some of the scientists on the colony, I guess.”

“I’m a fast learner, and I can’t help listening.” Lore placed his left hand on the console, then leaned forward to watch the various displays. “Their voices carry through the whole bunker. Even when they think they’re whispering.”

“Ohey, gossip is my naughty pleasure.” Evelynn looked up at Lore’s face, “What have you overheard?”

Lore smirked, “Chris Finley told Laksmi Satendra that he was planning to ruin Doctor Clendenning’s next experiment, because Clendenning keeps taking credit for Finley’s work and sending it to peer review like it’s his own. Also, Doctor Kelly and his wife, Merrian, have been fighting. So have your mother and father.”

Evelynn frowned deeply, “I know about my mother and father, thank you. You don’t need to tell me gossip about my own family. Everyone else will be fine.”

“Have I committed an offense?” Lore’s eyebrows rose with worry. “I don’t want to harm you in any way, Evelynn.”

“It’s all right, Lore.” Evelynn reached over to pat Lore’s hand. “There’s no offense. We’re still friends.”

Lore smiled brightly, “Friends.”

“Friends, always.” Evelynn interlaced her fingers with Lore’s, “No matter what.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13071.5

 

If Lore’s amber eyes could have shot laser beams, Tom Handy would have been a pile of burnt flesh. As it was, Lore glowered with anger as he was coerced to attempt to rub his stomach in a circle with his left hand while patting himself on the head with his right hand.

Doctor Soong cackled with glee, “See there, Tom? He’s doing it.”

Tom Handy squinted, watching Lore perform. “Mmm. It’s a start, I s’pose.”

Lore scowled at the colony’s leader. “Well, Mister Handy, you would know about patting one’s own stomach, since yours is too large a target to miss. Have the others noticed that you’ve been stealing from the colony’s general supplies, yet?” He turned his eyes to Doctor Soong. “Father, may I please stop? I refuse to be a spectacle for this human’s amusement.”

Doctor Soong blinked in surprise, “Certainly, Lore. You can stop now.”

“Excellent work, Often Wrong.” Handy laughed, “Leave it to you to make a disobedient android. Just what we all wanted.”

“Erm, he just needs some tweaking.” Doctor Soong moved closer to Lore, then reached out towards the left side of the android’s neck. “He’ll obey me, though.”

Lore gently slapped Soong’s hand away, “I refuse to be tweaked. Why don’t you all go tweak yourselves?”

Handy’s eyebrows lowered as he watched the interaction, “Y’know, Often Wrong, if you can’t keep that thing under control, it’ll have to be shut down. Bad enough that I have several parents complaining about it…”

Soong turned quickly, facing Tom Handy, and pointed with his left hand, “You know damn well that those brats threw rocks at Lore! If the kids will leave him be, he won’t retaliate.”

“So you say.” Handy kept his distance. “But when I look at your android, I don’t see a boon for mankind. I see trouble on two legs.”

Soong pleaded to the man, “Nobody’s given him a chance. He’s been reviled since the first day he was activated. Ask Missy Bickel. She’s had Lore working with her, and not a single complaint there. He’s very gentle, as long as people are nice to him.”

Tom Handy rubbed at his beard, “Well, it’s true he’s behaved himself in the communication lab, but his general demeanor scares everyone else.”

“What general demeanor?” Soong demanded, looking between Lore and Handy.

The right side of Lore’s mouth rose, “Your neck is so large that I’d probably need to use both hands to strangle you, Mister Handy.”

Handy frowned, then pointed to Lore, “That demeanor, Soong! That’s exactly what I’m talking about. Get that thing out of my sight.”

Soong reached for Lore’s arm, “Let’s go.” He pulled the android back in the direction of the bunker.

Lore let Soong pull him along, “I should be leading this colony. I’m superior to him.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13085.2

 

Lore finished speaking, then stopped recording. “Computer, attach that recording as an addendum to the daily weather reports.” As the computer complied with his instruction, Lore’s lips widened to a smile.

“Ohey, you look happy.” Evelynn entered the communications room. “It’s a nice change from your usual dour face.”

“I’ve got something to be happy about.” Lore turned to face the young woman. “I’ve decided on a purpose for myself. A goal. Something to aspire to.”

Evelynn smiled at the android, “Oh? That’s good. Sometimes it takes people years to figure out what they want to do with themselves. What did you decide on?”

Lore leaned back against the support column, “I’m going to replace Tom Handy as leader of the colony.”

“What?” Evelynn’s dark eyes widened, becoming even more magnified by the lenses in front of them. “How are you going to do that?”

Lore patted the console next to him, “I created an advertisement for myself which will be broadcast around the colony along with the weather reports. You and I can walk around and show the colonists that I have their best interests at heart. They will eagerly elect me to be their leader.”

“Do you have their best interests at heart?” Evelynn asked hesitantly. “Why would you want to lead these people?”

Lore pushed off from the column, moving towards Evelynn, “They’re disorganized. They fight amongst themselves and they waste resources. If I lead them, I can unify them and create a more efficient society. A more peaceful society. I’m superior in so many ways to humans. I can help you all overcome your limitations.”

“Oh no, Lore.” Evelynn placed her hands on Lore’s chest. “Please tell me you didn’t say that in your advertisement.”

Lore frowned, “Why do you want me to tell you that?”

Evelynn shook her head, “That’ll put everyone on the defensive.”

“Perhaps you’re not giving people enough credit.” Lore brought up his right hand, gently covering Evelynn’s hands. “This is a colony of scientists. Surely, they will be swayed by the logic of my argument.”

“I hope you’re right.” Evelynn bit her lower lip, “I hope this doesn’t all backfire on you.”

Lore smiled at Evelynn, “You worry too much. Why don’t we go for a walk? It’s a beautiful summer day.” He removed his hand from over hers, then held it out to her.

“All right.” Evelynn took Lore’s hand and let him lead her out of the bunker.

 

* * *

 

 After the weather reports, twice daily, community and personal monitors play the advertisement:

“Why settle for an old man with limited human ability, as your leader? Why not choose a leader who exceeds the human capacity, both mentally and physically? I am Lore, and with your support, I can help this colony reach its true potential. I will teach everyone the meaning of efficiency, and petty disputes will be a thing of the past. Join me, and together, we will usher in a great future for Omicron Theta.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13113.7

 

Lore walked unescorted, heading for the town. He ignored the angry shouts and jeers of the colonists as he passed them, and marched with purpose. Evelynn had been correct; Lore’s bid for colony leader had been short-lived. Lore’s superiority proved meaningless, and the humans let it be known that they would never follow an android. Several of the humans hollered as he walked his route.

“Get back to the bunker, Tin Man!”

“Oh, look! It’s President Robot.”

“Tell Often Wrong to shut you down, you menace!”

“Hah, how’s the efficient life, Lore?”

Lore waved to the final man shouting at him, “Good morning, Mister Kelly. I hear your wife is spending the nights with Ed Matagaro, these days.”

Mister Kelly’s right hand balled into a fist, “Mind your own business, damned machine!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Mister Kelly.” Lore feigned contrition, “You wanted efficient? With my strength, I could just strike you in the nasion and you’d be dead in a near instant.”

Lore continued walking until he reached the Lucien homestead. The fenced-in yard was poorly maintained and he recognized the two story house as being constructed from wood. A large garage sat at the far edge of the property. In the yard, a woman held an infant in her lap, while two young children played with toys in the grass. Lore leaped over the fence with ease and approached the woman, then stopped when she turned to look at him. His visual sensors detected bruising along the left side of the woman’s face, and the cartilage in her nose was uneven. Her eyes were blue, but the white of the left eye was discolored with red.

The woman cringed, then tightened her hold on the baby in her lap. “What do you want?”

“I am Lore.” Lore replied, then answered the question, “Evelynn hasn’t come to the communications lab in three days. That’s unlike her. I’ve come to see if she’s all right.”

“She’s fine.” The woman’s head turned towards the house, then back to Lore. “You shouldn’t be here.”

“I want to talk to Evelynn.” Lore tilted his head, “How were you injured?”

The woman lowered her face, “I fell down the stairs. Please, you need to leave.”

“Not until I speak with Evelynn.” Lore began to walk towards the house, but Evelynn opened the door and ran outside towards him.

“Ohey, Lore! You’re not supposed to be wandering through the colony alone.” Evelynn reached the android and attempted to turn him back towards the gate.

Lore frowned as he looked at Evelynn. Her face had similar bruises along the left side. “What happened to you, Evelynn?”

Evelynn replied as she made an unsuccessful attempt to push the android to the edge of the property, “I fell down the stairs.”

Lore dug his heels into the ground. “Strange. Both you and that woman fell down the stairs and only seem to have impacted on the left side of your bodies.”

“That’s my mother. Her name is Tanya.” Evelynn panted heavily as she pushed in vain, “Lore, I mean it. You can’t be here. I’ll be back at the bunker in a few days. I promise.”

Lore gazed at Evelynn with an intensity in his yellow eyes, “I would do anything for you, Evelynn. You’re my friend, and I’m your friend.”

Evelynn smiled softly, “I know. If you truly would do anything for me, then go back. You’ll get in trouble for being here.”

Lore hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head. “For you.” He moved to the fence, easily leaped over it, and then jogged towards the Eastern path. Once he was no longer in sight of the Lucien yard, Lore sprinted, running at 169 kilometers per hour. A quick turn onto the Southern path took him near the physical plant and water treatment facility. He came to a halt, then stared out into the wilds, until he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

“There you are, Lore.” Noonian Soong panted heavily as he hiked up the hill towards the power plant. “I wish you wouldn’t wander off. It’s safer in the bunker.”

Lore frowned, then replied, “The others are afraid of me, father. You can’t hear them, but my auditory sensors can hear every whisper.” He stared at Soong with unblinking yellow eyes, “They fear me. They call me a monster.”

Noonian stopped next to the android, bending and placing his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “Humans will always fear and envy you. They fear your power, your intellect. They fear you because you're everything they want to be, but can't be. You’re stronger, smarter, free from sickness, and immortal. You’re superior to them, and it scares them.”

Lore grunted in response, “They also call you Often Wrong Soong. They say you keep making the same mistake twice.”

“In science, Lore, making the same mistake twice is often not a mistake at all. Quite the contrary.” Noonian reached a hand over to Lore, placing it on the android’s shoulder, “Never mind what they all say. I want you in the bunker and not wandering. If you disobey me again, I'll deactivate you. You won't see the light of day ever again. Do I make myself clear?”

“Yes, father.” Lore hung his head, then followed Soong back to the entrance of the underground facility.

“I mean it, this time.” Soong told the android, “You’re grounded. Stay in the bunker.”

“They reject the idea of my leadership.” Lore lamented. “They hate me.”

“You may resemble a human, because I gave you human form…” Doctor Soong spoke while he opened the Southern bunker door, “But you’re completely different from them. You may as well be trying to lead a colony of ants, that’s how much your intellect differs from humans.”

Lore followed his father into the bunker, then stopped by the communications lab, “Will I be allowed to continue working with Missy? I still wish to perform my duties and be useful.”

Doctor Soong smiled at Lore, “Of course. But no more advertisements with the weather reports.”

“I promise.” Lore replied as he watched Soong start to walk back towards the cybernetics lab. “No more of that.” He opened the door to the communications center and went inside to continue studying the faint graviton wave patterns they had been receiving over the subspace radio for the past two months. Neither Missy nor Evelynn could perceive them, as of yet, but to Lore’s ears, it sounded as if the signals were coming closer.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13158.6

 

Lore settled into the security center after Missy had gone back to her quarters for the evening, having found the antidote to being grounded was watching the live feed from the multitude of surveillance equipment around the colony. A familiar portly figure caught Lore’s attention, and he focused on Tom Handy, as the man entered the bunker and marched into the cybernetics laboratory. Lore slid his fingers on the console, adjusting the volume of that particular area to be the dominant one in his earpiece.

 

_Soong looked up from his workstation as Handy stomped into the lab. “To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?”_

_“It’s no pleasure, at all.” Tom Handy held the PADD out to Soong. “Signatures of the majority of the community, Often Wrong.”_

_Soong took the PADD and read the text on the display. “This is a petition. You all want me to make another android? After what’s happened with Lore?” He shoved the PADD back at Handy. “This colony ruined Lore. He was a nearly perfect artificial simulation of a human being. If I’d given him natural coloration, I bet nobody would have known the difference, and he’d have been accepted by the folks in town.”_

_“That’s the exact problem, Soong.” Handy grabbed the PADD, “He’s too much like a human, in all the wrong ways. Make an android that’s… well, more android-like. One who does what it’s told to do and doesn’t make threats or hurt children and animals.”_

_“The incident with Mueller’s dog was never proven.” Soong snapped back, then stood up and faced the colony’s leader. “Neither were a few of the other alleged attacks.”_

_“It’s a well known fact that your android lies and that he sneaks out alone.” Handy reached out his arm, poking Soong in the chest with an index finger. “It’s to the point where nobody believes what Lore claims, anymore.”_

_Soong gritted his teeth, “Remove your finger from my chest, before I remove it… from your hand!”_

_Handy complied with a frown, “I see where your android gets its violent tendencies from.”_

_“I’m not normally a violent man, but you’re pushing me to the borderline.” Soong spat back, “If everyone wants me to make a second android, so be it. No matter how you feel about it, you can’t take away what I’ve achieved.” He cackled with delight, “A stable positronic brain. The first step in artificial lifeforms.”_

_Tom Handy blanched at Soong’s declaration, then backed up a few steps. “Just make a less human android. One that we can actually live with.”_

_“Fine, fine.” Soong gestured with a dismissive wave, “Now, get out of the lab and let me get to work.” He returned to his seat and turned his back to the portly leader._

_Tom Handy spun and exited at a brisk pace._

_Juliana emerged from the inner, private lab, “Who was that, Noonian?”_

_Soong gave Juliana a soft smile, “Oh, just Ol’ Tom Handy, my dear. The colonists want me to make a second android.”_

_Juliana crossed the room to stand next to Soong at the workstation, “That makes no sense. They can’t stand Lore. Why would they want another one?”_

_“I hate to say it, but what your mother said to you was right.” Soong exhaled slowly._

_“Which part?” Juliana bent to give Soong a kiss on the cheek, “When she said I should have stayed away from you?”_

_Soong chuckled amiably, “No. When she told you that Lore was suffering from uncanny valley. I think she’s right. Handy says Lore is “too human”. I need to make the next android more artificial. I was planning to, anyway.”_

_“You were?” Juliana raised an eyebrow, then waited for Soong to elaborate._

_“With all his nuances and complexities, I thought that basic emotion would be simple.” Soong explained, “I didn’t take into account what would happen when he interacted with the colonists. I’d figured they’d have welcomed my invention with open arms, but it didn’t happen that way. Lore’s emotion twisted and turned, and he’s got wild ambitions.” Soong smacked the console with his hand. “Damn myself, why didn’t I foresee that? I’ve created an artificial Malik.”_

_“Who?” Juliana rubbed Soong’s back gently, “Noonian, you’re making no sense.”_

_Soong pursed his lips, continuing on as if speaking only to himself, “This time, it’s easier. No hunting through strands of DNA. All I have to do is disable emotions entirely and make sure the android has no ambition, whatsoever. I can program compliance in. I’ll need Lucien’s help, though.” He turned his head sharply to look at Juliana, as if just noticing her presence. “We’re going to make another one.”_

_“I can’t believe you want to go through it, all over again.” Tears glistened in Juliana’s eyes. “I’m very much against building another android.”_

_Soong stared up at Juliana with beseeching blue eyes, “Does this mean you won’t help me with its construction?”_

_Juliana let out a soft sigh, then smiled wistfully, “I’ll still help. Maybe this time, we can make a female android?”_

_“We’ll see, Julie.” Soong reached for Juliana’s hand, “Sitting still for the molds and rattling off words for the speech synthesis is no walk in the park, you know.”_

_“I’ll still do it, anyway.” Juliana replied, “A daughter would be nice, and perhaps an artificial woman would be more accepted than an artificial man.”_

_Soong grunted, then started to design the next android, “We’ll see. There’s much work to do before we need to decide.”_

Lore’s amber eyes burned with anger as he watched Juliana return to the hidden lab. He removed the earpiece, stood and left the security chamber, then checked the main communications systems before returning to the Soongs for the night.


	27. The Next Logical Step

***Trigger warnings: Abusive behavior, narcissism, domestic violence.**

**Omicron Theta**

 

Stardate: 13165.8

 

“Lore, stop hovering.” Doctor Soong admonished the android standing directly behind him.

“I’m sorry, Father.” Lore backed up a few steps. “Do you wish me to help you? With my superior reflexes and fine motor control, I would be able to assist you far better than Doctor Matagaro or Mother would.”

Soong stopped in the middle of fusing two circuits together. “No thank you, Lore. I know you’d be able to help, but I need to be able to oversee each step of this.”

Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek, then smirked, “I believe the humans call that micromanaging?” He leaned against the wall and folded his arms across his chest, “It’s no matter. I can watch the proceedings just as easily.”

Soong grumbled and resumed connecting the circuitry, “Don’t you have anything better to do?”

“No, Father.” Lore replied with mock deference. “I’m not yet due at the communications lab, and you grounded me. It’s not like I have my own room. I have nothing better to do than watch you work. What is it you’re building, anyway, dear Father?”

Soong frowned as he answered, “Just some experimental circuitry. Nothing you need to be concerned with.”

Lore waited a beat, then asked, “Is it something for the Orions?”

Soong’s concentration slipped and the tip of the extremely hot tool jabbed his right hand instead of the thin wire. The small module fell to the floor with a clatter, while the cyberneticist let out a few choice curses. “Lore!” He whirled in place, clutching his hand. “What are you playing at?”

Lore pushed off from the wall and walked to a nearby cabinet, “Playing at? I’m sure I don’t know what you mean.” He opened one of the drawers and removed the dermal regenerator. “Here, dear Father. You seem to have injured yourself. Let me heal the wound.”

Soong held his right hand out, then sighed in relief as Lore activated the regenerator. “You know exactly what I mean. What do you think you know about the Orions?”

Lore lowered his voice as he waved the dermal regenerator over Soong’s burned flesh, “While I was grounded and with not much else to occupy my time, I did some digging. I’m impressed, Father. You accepted payment and materials from the Orions, then vanished under an assumed name without delivering a product to them. Quite dishonest of you, but I do have to admire your audacity.” He depressed the button on the regenerator, deactivating it.

“Not a word of it to Juliana or anyone else, you hear?” Soong rubbed at the newly healed skin on his right hand. “It needs to remain a secret.”

“I could be persuaded to keep such a secret.” Lore returned the dermal regenerator to the drawer, then pushed the drawer shut.

“In exchange for what?” Soong eyed the android with wariness.

Lore dropped any cheer from his expression, “I realize that you grounded me for my own protection, but I’m feeling rather imprisoned. I’d like to at least continue to survey the wilderness outside the colony. Evelynn Lucien’s offer to accompany me on colony walks still stands.”

“Hmm.” Soong bent to pick up the dropped module. “All right. If you’re escorted while in the colony, or you’re out in the wilds, that should be fine. Nobody can complain about you if they don’t see you.”

“Thank you, Father.” Lore replied, then turned to leave the lab, “I’m going to stroll around the hills to the South, I think.”

“Enjoy.” Soong waved dismissively at the android, then resumed working.

Lore’s lips spread into a broad, self-satisfied smile as he headed to the main corridor and then outside through the Southern door.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13200.5

Source: Surveillance Footage Only

 

Edwin Matagaro entered the cybernetics lab and went right to work on metallurgical analysis of the newly replicated android parts. “Good afternoon, Soong.”

“Ah, good afternoon.” Doctor Soong greeted the other man, “You’re right on time. The duranium and cortenide arrived on a transport ship. We should have the skull and bones formed, within a week or so.”

Matagaro’s brows knitted together, “All right.” He paused, then remarked, “I noticed Lore walking with Lucien’s daughter as I was coming here.”

“Yes, Evelynn’s been kind enough to escort Lore around, so that he doesn’t get into trouble with the other colonists.” Soong acknowledged as he checked the replicated servos in a container on the right side of the entrance doors.

“Lore seems happy when he’s with her.” Matagaro placed a metal component into the ‘approved’ bin.

Soong moved across the room, to the large station sitting on the left side, just inside the door. “I suppose he might be.” He went quiet as he checked the container of subprocessors floating in a nutrient fluid suspension inside the workstation’s chamber. “Hard to tell with Lore, because he has mood swings.”

Matagaro inhaled, then let the breath out as a slow sigh, “It doesn’t feel right to me, Soong. We’re building this new android and not fixing the unstable one that’s walking around.”

“Yes, I know.” Soong nodded to the other cyberneticist, “It’s a shame, but there’s nothing I can do for Lore, right now. Like you said, at least he experiences some happy moments, here and there.”

“Why leave him active, then?” Matagaro tilted his head, eyeing Soong.

Soong looked around the lab, as if making certain nobody else was nearby, “He’s gathering valuable telemetry for me. The information I can get from him will help me with the next phase of androids”

“Next phase?” Matagaro choked, then cleared his throat, “You only just finished making Lore, and you have a next phase?”

“Lore was just another rung on the ladder.” Soong answered. “Proof that I can create a stable positronic matrix, and proof that it can run complex behaviors, heuristics and emotions.”

“Yes, a machine that feels.” Matagaro’s brows knitted in contemplation, “A machine that has ambitions and desires, that can learn to love and hate and has even gotten vengeful.” He looked over at Soong, “You’ve made a machine that can suffer.”

“So?” Soong shrugged at the other cyberneticist. “It’s part of my brilliance.”

“So?” Matagaro replied, “So, you haven’t lived up to your responsibility as his “brilliant” creator. If you make a machine that has emotions and suffers, don’t you owe it to that machine to make certain that it’s cared for? You’ve abandoned him.”

Soong snorted, “You’re being overly sentimental about Lore. He’s just an android. I created him and I don’t owe him a thing. If he behaves himself, I won’t deactivate him, which I think is more than fair.”

“You’re going to leave him supervised by a teenage girl and that’s it?” Matagaro shook his head, “He’s dangerous, and you’re ignoring that, instead of fixing him. Thank the stars that he’s not a real child, or you’d be guilty of neglect.”

“It’s not that easy to fix Lore.” Soong’s voice betrayed his defensive stance, “The next logical step is to construct this one. Once that’s done, I can go back to Lore and attempt to make him function properly.”

“All right, genius.” Matagaro’s voice carried a tone of resignation. He let out a sigh, shook his head and resumed checking metal parts.

 

* * *

Stardate: 13242.4

 

Lore sat motionless, listening to Doctor Soong and Juliana arguing in the bedroom. He predicted that the heated debate would be coming to an end soon, as it had been going on for nearly forty minutes. Their daily disputes averaged at forty one minutes and ten seconds in duration.

“But this one isn’t going to have emotions.” Soong protested. “It won’t need all that… that… fluff.”

Juliana countered in a firm tone of voice, “I think she’ll need a creative aspect even more, because of that. Unlike Lore, she’ll have no other way to express herself.”

“You’re still referring to it as a she.” Soong responded, “I’m not sure it should be female.”

“Why shouldn’t it be female?” Juliana demanded, “Lore looks like almost exactly like you did when you were younger, doesn’t he? It would be nice to create an idealized android couple of ourselves, in my opinion.”

Soong’s voice turned gruff, but he relented, “We’ll see. I suppose we can get everything ready, just in case, for it to have a female appearance. I’ll set up the casting area for you. But I don’t want to hear a single complaint out of you when you’re having to sit still while waiting for the alginate to harden.” The knob on the bedroom door turned, and the door opened. As Soong entered the dining area, he frowned when he noticed Lore. “How long have you been sitting there, Lore?”

“Long enough.” Lore broadened his lips into his usual thin smile, “I think Mother is correct. A female android would be a nice addition to the family, and, in my opinion, she’s more aesthetically pleasing than you are, Father.”

Juliana emerged from the bedroom, then blinked in surprise, “Thank you, Lore.”

Soong walked over to Lore and patted his cheek, “But I always loved that face.”

Lore smirked at his creator, “I’m sure you do. I’m surprised you don’t put a mirror next to Mother’s head when you fornicate with her. Or do you?”

“Good heavens, Lore!” Juliana’s eyes widened with shock. “What a thing to say.”

Soong ignored the question, “At least he’s accessing his sexual program database…”

“Yes.” Lore snorted at the two, “My wonderful sexuality programming. For when I meet a lovely woman and want to have children of my own.”

“That’s enough, Lore.” Soong glared at the android, “If you don’t behave, I’ll deactivate you.”

Lore stood and strolled to the door, “Fine, fine. I’m behaving. I think I’ll go work on the subspace blip. Enjoy the evening and try not to fight too much.” He turned back for a quick glance at the Soongs’ indignant faces, then sneered and made his way to the communications lab.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13265.9

 

Lore walked at Evelynn’s side as they strolled around the town and past the school. The children were in the recreation area behind the school, dressed in warm clothing, but enjoying the clear winter day. He glanced at the young woman by his side and watched a white puff of condensation emerge from her mouth and hang suspended for a brief moment, before dissipating.

“Loooooore.” Evelynn eyed the android with suspicion, “What’s so funny? You look like you’re about to laugh.”

Lore pointed out the next puff of freezing water vapor, “The visible effect from your breath.” He inhaled, then exhaled, with no cloud. “I don’t make those.”

Evelynn giggled, then created an even larger cloud of condensation, “Carbon dioxide and moisture. You have the advantage of never having bad breath, though.” She suddenly cringed, as a ball came flying through the air, heading straight for Evelynn’s face.

Lore extended his hand in a move so quick that it was a blur, catching the ball before it impacted with his companion. He turned and peered into the direction from which the ball had originated.

A wide-eyed boy watched from inside the schoolyard fence, then stammered, “Sorry, ah, could we have our ball back?”

“Be careful of him, John.” Anthony Petrus called over to the nervous boy, “He might throw it hard enough to knock your head off.”

Lore shouted back, “What’s that, Anthony Petrus? You wish me to knock your head off? Is that what you just said? I aim to please.” He drew his arm back, holding the ball, as if about to throw the round object with full force at the child.

Anthony shrieked and ran for cover.

“Lore....” Evelynn whispered a soft warning.

“John Bickel, age nine, grandson of Missy.” Lore’s mouth widened in a feral grin, but he threw the ball back to the polite child with gentle precision.

The ball landed without harm in John’s hands. “Thanks, Mister.” He ran with the ball back to the other children his age.

Evelynn reached out to take Lore by the arm and pulled him away from the school, “That’s a good fellow. Let’s get out of here, so you have less temptation to maim children.”

“Evelynn…” Lore walked along, letting her guide him, “Why don’t you attend the school with the other children?”

“I told you when we first met.” Evelynn gave Lore an indignant glance. “I’m not a child. I’ve passed all my proficiency tests, and in eight days, I’ll be eighteen. Missy’s going to be training me to take over her position in the communications lab.” Pride gleamed in her deep brown eyes, “I’ll be an actual community member, not just one of the kids.”

Lore’s brows knitted together, “Your birthday will be in eight days?”

“Yep.” Evelynn smiled in satisfaction. “Not that anything special will happen, but it’s still one more year under my belt.”

Lore studied Evelynn’s face for a few seconds, “Will you be at the communications lab on that day?”

Evelynn nodded, “I should be. Like I said, I’m not doing anything special.”

“That’s good.” Lore answered, then followed her along the various colony paths and finally back to the underground bunker.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13268.7

 

Lore did his best to appear sheepish as he approached Juliana in their living quarters. “Mother?”

Juliana peered through the bedroom door as she finished making the bed, “Yes, Lore?”

“I need your help.” Lore spoke with reluctance, but attempted to keep a bit of cheer in his voice.

“Certainly.” Juliana walked out to the dining area, “What sort of help?”

Lore held out his hands, showing her the various rocks. “I gathered these in the wilds. I’d like to have them polished and made into a bracelet for Evelynn.”

Juliana’s blue eyes went saucer-wide, “You want to give a girl jewelry, Lore?”

“It’s her birthday, and I read that it’s customary to give one’s friends a gift on their birthday.” Lore explained. “Evelynn is my only friend. I want to give her something.”

A smile spread to Juliana’s lips as her suspicion seemed to melt away, “Oh, Lore, that’s sweet of you. Of course I’ll help you.” She gathered her tools and set them on the table, “Have you cleaned the rocks, yet?”

Lore nodded as he brought the rocks to the table, “I scrubbed them in hot, soapy water, as I’ve watched you do.” He sat at the table, in the chair next to hers and carefully deposited the small stones on the surface.

Juliana checked through Lore’s treasures, “You’ve collected citrine, chocolate opal and axinite.” She picked up one stone and began to sand it, “Take the other sanding tool and do what I’m doing to another rock.”

Lore picked up the other tool, watched Juliana for a few moments and reproduced her technique with exactitude.

“These are interesting colors to choose for Evelynn. Browns and yellows.” Juliana remarked, “Do you want me to add anything blue or red to the bracelet?”

Lore paused, then pressed his lips together before giving an answer, “I chose these color rocks for a specific reason. The yellow ones are representative of my eyes, and the brown ones remind me of her eyes. The other type of rock is a combination of the two colors, to symbolize our friendship. Do you think they’ll be too dull for her?”

Worry creased Juliana’s brow, “No. If you explain it that way to her, she’ll be flattered.”

“Good.” Lore smiled as he finished the first stone and worked on the next, “She walks with me and makes sure I don’t get into trouble. I’d like to repay her kindness.”

Juliana relaxed, “It’s good to show someone that you appreciate them. I’m glad you want to do this. When do we need to have the bracelet finished?”

“In six days.” Lore informed Juliana, and watched her face for a reaction.

“Hmm.” Juliana seemed to think for a moment, “With you helping to sand and polish them, we should be able to finish it in time. It’ll be tight, though.”

“I don’t require rest, so I can speed things up.” Lore picked up the third stone to sand.

“For the band and settings, what would you like?” Juliana finished her second stone to sand, “I have gold, silver and some tungsten. I could make a nice braid of the gold and silver.”

Lore pondered for a few seconds, “A gold and silver braid sounds perfect, Mother. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Lore.” Juliana smiled graciously at the android, then concentrated on preparing the stones.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13287.5

 

Lore listened to the various subspace transmissions as he waited for Evelynn to arrive for her daily assignment. He smiled when his auditory sensors picked up the sound of the door opening.

Evelynn entered the communications lab in a somber manner, but greeted Lore with enthusiasm. “Ohey, Lore.” She looked around the small laboratory, “Where’s Missy?”

“Hello, Evelynn.” Lore responded, removing the earpiece from his right ear, “Missy wasn’t feeling well, so I told her that you and I would handle everything today. I hope I wasn’t being presumptuous?”

Evelynn shook her head, “No, you weren’t. I’ll be here with you.” She situated herself at the short range equipment. “Do I need to do the weather report or check the arrays?”

Lore gave Evelynn a genuine smile, “No. I took care of all of that.” He reached into the pocket of his vest, “I have something for you.” He stood and walked to her side, then held out a small box tied with a ribbon. “Happy birthday.”

Evelynn looked at the box, then blinked at Lore, as if in shock.

Lore tilted his head, still holding the box out to her. “It is customary for a friend to give a friend a gift on her birthday, is it not?”

“Oh!” Evelynn accepted the box, taking it from Lore’s hands, “Yes… yes, it is. Thank you so much, Lore. I…” She stared at the small package, “I’m a terrible gift receiver, but I’m very touched by this.” Her eyes glazed over with tears as she opened the box and removed the bracelet. “Oh, Lore, this is beautiful.”

“I collected the stones, and my mother made the bracelet.” Lore watched her face closely, “You are crying.”

“Happy tears, Lore.” Evelynn smiled and slipped the bracelet on her left hand, then held her arm out as she admired the sparkling gems. “I don’t suppose you’re wired to cry like we are?”

“I don’t cry, it seems.” Lore informed Evelynn.

Evelynn reached up with her arms to pull Lore’s face closer, “Thank you, Lore. This is a wonderful gift. I’ll always treasure it.”

Lore put up no resistance, letting Evelynn guide his face to hers, but his expression turned to surprise when she pressed her lips to his.

“Oh my gosh.” Evelynn exclaimed, once the quick kiss was finished. “Your lips feel like… lips.”

“So do yours.” Lore grinned as he moved back from her face.

“I’m serious.” Evelynn lifted her right hand to touch Lore’s lips with her fingertips, “It’s amazing how warm and soft you are. With all the attention to such realistic details, why did he give you such odd skin and eye colors?”

“I’ve never asked.” Lore shrugged. “It’s not important.”

Evelynn looked down at her left wrist, admiring the bracelet, “No, I guess it really doesn’t matter.”

Lore followed her gaze, then frowned as his optical sensors picked up discoloration of her skin where the sleeve of her shirt had been pushed back to accommodate the bracelet. He reached for her arm, “What’s this?”

“Just bruises. Nothing.” Evelynn flinched, but allowed Lore to touch her and push the sleeve further up towards her elbow. “I tripped on the stairs.”

Lore scowled, “It seems those are dangerous stairs. Would you like me to _fix_ them?”

Evelynn shook her head, “No, I don’t want you to fix them. What I want is to work here today, and be with you and just be happy, okay?”

“Okay.” Lore mimicked the word, “I want you to be happy, as well, which includes not having bruises from… stairs.”

Evelynn gave Lore a soft smile, “I understand.” After a pause, she asked, “What time will Soong be expecting you back?”

Lore shrugged, “They don’t keep track of me, anymore. They’re too busy building a female android. Maybe my sister or perhaps my companion.”

“Companion?” Evelynn’s face fell, “Why do you need a companion?”

Lore’s voice took on a forlorn tone, “So I won’t be alone anymore. I’ll belong with someone.”

Evelynn averted her eyes from Lore, “I’d hoped you felt like you belong with me.”

Lore reached out with a hand to touch one of the dark curls of hair by her temple, “You do make me feel as if I belong with you.” The left side of his mouth rose as he watched the ringlet continue to bounce after he ceased contact.

Evelynn met his gaze, then smiled, “I’m glad. I guess we should get back to work.” She rolled her stool over to the interferometer station, “I’m going to check for synchrotron radiation. Are you still working on the subspace mystery?”

“Yes, Evelynn. I am.” Lore placed the earpiece in his right ear, and listened to the resonating patterns. He adjusted the station’s outgoing graviton emissions to a beam of thirty pulses per second, matching the intermittent nature of the pulses he had detected months ago. His bright yellow eyes widened as the resonating sounds changed in response to his signal. Lore altered the patterns of graviton waves, and the reply changed to match. It would take him time to decipher, but the pulses were possibly some sort of language. There was one thing Lore was positive about:

There was something out there.


	28. Discrepancies and Depositions

**Stardate 58537.9**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

“Computer, pause program.” Captain Louvois’ voice interrupted the sounds of the Omicron Theta presentation and the images faded as the light in Holodeck Four resumed its normal level. “It’s getting late, and I thought an overnight recess would be good. We’ll reconvene at beta shift.”

Captain Picard stood, “Agreed. Until tomorrow, then.”

Doctor Crusher looked visibly shaken, but she nodded, “It’s been an interesting presentation, so far.” She looked between Louvois and Picard, “I’ll see you two in the morning.” After receiving a nod of acknowledgement from the others, she passed the guards and made a swift exit from the holodeck.

Captain Louvois regarded Lore for a moment, “I assume the escalation of hostilities was on both sides?”

The sadness in Lore’s face vanished as he answered Louvois, “Yes.” The familiar anger returned to the amber eyes, “I lied enough about my misdeeds that, in time, when I was blamed for what I hadn’t done, no one believed me. Then I stopped denying anything, whether I’d done it or not.” He stared at the captains with intensity, “If I couldn’t earn their admiration or respect, I was willing to accept their fear.”

T’Mera shifted her attention from Data to Captain Louvois, “Is there anything you’d like me to pull, specifically, to show when we reconvene?”

Louvois looked at the others, then back at T’Mera, “I think we’ve established how Lore’s amorality was formed. Assuming that Lore’s memories are accurate.”

“Lore’s recall is perfect and it matches the surveillance footage, to the very second.” T’Mera informed the judge, “Of course, that means that all of Lore’s lies are conscious ones.”

Lore smirked at the statement, “Guilty as charged. Nothing can slip my mind, and anything I witness won’t be altered by my emotional state. So yes, I knew I was lying, and it didn’t bother me one bit.”

Louvois turned to speak to Data, “If it’s all right with you, Commander, I think I’d like the next part of the presentation to deal with your creation and programming, so I can see any difference in upbringing and how that affected you versus Lore, and to verify that there was a time when you were both active. There’s the matter of Lore’s alleged assault on Evelynn Lucien, so I want to see that relationship, within reason. I’d also like anything about how Lore contacted the Crystalline Entity. Finally, we do need to see the destruction of the colony, no matter how difficult it might be to watch, including the manner in which Doctor Tainer was injured during the escape.”

Data gave a head nod to Louvois, “It is fine with me, Captain Louvois. I, too, wish to see those events, even if I experience negative emotions in response to them.”

“I’ll have everything lined up for tomorrow, Captain.” T’Mera got up from her chair and moved closer to Data.

“Thank you, Doctor Chipman.” Louvois stood up and looked at Captain Picard, “Shall we?”

Captain Picard rose from the chair and tugged at the waistline of his jacket, “Of course.” He escorted Captain Louvois to the exit and out through the automatic sliding doors.

Counselor Veluna remained behind and spoke quietly to Lore, “Do you want me to stay longer?”

Lore shook his head, “Get some rest, Counselor.” He waved to Lieutenant D’Sora as her security replacement entered the holodeck for the new shift. “You get some rest, too, Assistant Security Chief.”

Lieutenant D’Sora returned the wave, “I will. See you tomorrow, Lore.” She exited through the automatic doors and into the corridor.

Veluna’s brown eyes met Lore’s yellow glare, “You can’t keep pushing your sorrow aside and replacing it with anger. Let yourself be sad. Let yourself grieve.”

“We’ll see. It’s easier said than done.” Lore averted his eyes from the Deltan. “Good night, Counselor.”

“Good night, Lore.” Veluna stood in a graceful motion and made her own way out of the holodeck.

“I am scheduled for bridge duty.” Data stated with reluctance, as he vacated his chair and enveloped T’Mera in a hug.

Lore turned his attention to Data and T’Mera, watching the couple embrace.

T’Mera stood on tiptoes to kiss Data, “I’ll still be here when you’re off duty.”

Data returned the kiss, then released her from the hug, “I wish you could come sit next to me.”

“I know.” T’Mera replied, then placed a hand on Data’s shoulder, “I have quite a bit of work to do before the next presentation. Maybe I’ll see you at alpha shift.”

Data’s lips parted in a wistful pout, “I agreed to spend breakfast with Doctor Tainer, but I will return to you as early as I can.”

Lore sauntered over to the couple, “How about this? Get Ensign Murphy to watch me at alpha shift, and then T’Mera can be with you and Juliana for breakfast. Assuming she gets her work done.”

“Thank you, Lore.” T’Mera smiled, then gave Lore a quick peck on the cheek. “I’ll start working, so I can be done by the time alpha rolls around.” She returned to her seat at the workstation.

Lore looked directly into Data’s identical gold eyes, “What’s Mother up to, if she hasn’t been here, watching these holographic shows?”

“Doctor Tainer has been helping the terraformers on the surface.” Data explained, “She still retains accurate knowledge of the geology of Omicron Theta.”

Lore canted his head to the right, then furrowed his eyebrows, “That’s odd. So, her only faulty memories are the ones that relate to me?”

“It seems so.” Data nodded twice, “There is also the matter of her current issue with short-term memory. I will try to find out more from her, at breakfast. For now, I must return to duty. Good night, Lore.” He turned in a single, sharp motion and headed to the holodeck exit and out into the corridor.

“I’ll be seeing you, my brother.” Lore donned his contrived grin and lifted his right hand in a wave.

T’Mera regarded Lore for a moment, “I do appreciate you thinking of me, and wanting me to spend time with Data. I can imagine how much pain you must be in, emotionally.”

The smile disappeared from Lore’s face. “I suppose my smile doesn’t fool you. Or Data.” He pushed his rolling chair towards the punching bag, “Or anyone on this ship.” Anger burned in his golden eyes, “You and Data have the kind of love I should have had. It should have been mine.” A strong punch into the bag followed the word “mine”.

“I can’t change the past, itself.” T’Mera fiddled with the dangling charm on her choker. “However, it does bring up the question of which of the three options you’d like, when this is done. With a full wipe, you won’t remember anything. With a partial wipe, I could remove the negative interactions with the colonists and remove the memories of Evelynn, since her loss causes you pain.”

“I still want the third option. No memory wipe.” Lore hung his head, staring at the floor, “I don’t want to forget. Even if it means suffering from all the other recollections, I want to remember every moment with her. Always.”

“I do understand, Lore.” T’Mera paused for a moment, “Would you like a diversion, while I work?”

Lore shook his head and punched the bag four times in rapid succession. “I think I’ll take out my anger on this thing for a while, then read, but thank you for the offer.”

T’Mera nodded an acknowledgement to Lore, then faced her workstation and focused on the task of creating the next presentation.

 

* * *

 

**Stardate 58538.8**

 

Data weaved his way through the morning crowd of the lounge, and brought Juliana Tainer a mug of coffee and a dish that contained thin, folded pancakes with a warm blueberry sauce. He set both items down in front of the geologist, then took the seat next to hers. “I am told these pancakes are the most popular breakfast item among the crew.”

Juliana inhaled the steam rising from the dish, “Well, they smell absolutely wonderful. It’s been quite a while since I’ve eaten a non-Atrean meal.” She looked at Data’s empty part of the table. “You’re not having anything?”

“While I am physically capable of eating, I am still in the habit of not partaking unless there is a specific social custom which demands that I do so.” Data’s eyebrows rose slightly, in apology, “If it makes you uncomfortable, I can get myself a cup of coffee and a pastry.”

“No, that’s fine.” Juliana waved her right hand dismissively, “You don’t need to have anything for my sake.” She indicated the entrance to the lounge with a nod of her head, “I see T’Mera.”

Data followed Juliana’s gaze, then stood, “If you will excuse me?” After receiving a nod from her, he walked over to meet T’Mera by the replicator. “Good morning, t’hy’la.”

“Plomeek broth and a corn muffin, both ninety-three degrees.” T’Mera stood on tiptoe to give Data a quick kiss, “Good morning, my cherished one.” She reached for the mug and plate, then stopped as Data intercepted the food.

“I will carry this to the table for you.” Data grabbed the mug of broth and the plate with the muffin, then turned to lead T’Mera to the table.

“Thank you, Data.” T’Mera followed behind the Commander, then raised her right hand in the Vulcan salute as they both approached the table, “Live long and prosper, Doctor Tainer.” She waited for Data to set her food on the table, then sat in the corresponding chair.

“Good morning, T’Mera.” Juliana smiled brightly, “Just call me Juliana or Mother, please. Oh!” She brought the fingers of her right hand to her lips, “I hope that isn’t presumptuous. You two aren’t married, but…”

“It is all right, Mother.” Data reassured the geologist, then glanced at T’Mera.

T’Mera sipped from the mug of broth, then smiled, “I understand the sentiment behind it, although I may still call you Juliana until I get accustomed to the idea of calling you Mother.”

“That’s fine.” Juliana answered, then seemed to consider T’Mera’s breakfast, “You eat, even though you’re an android? I hope it’s acceptable for me to ask about that?”

T’Mera swallowed a bit of the corn muffin, “Oh, it’s fine to ask. I do still eat, although not as much as I used to. There’s a marked difference between a synaptic transfer, like myself, and a full android who was built from a blank slate and who has to build a neural network. Now and again, I get cravings or feel the urge to eat and sleep.” With an amused expression, she added, “One day, I’m going to see if the replicator can make semi-organic nutrient suspension pancakes with silicon-based liquid syrup, just for Data.”

“That does not sound particularly delectable.” Data’s lips quirked upwards.

T’Mera chuckled, then regarded Juliana, “Just to be clear, you can ask me anything about what it’s like to be transferred into an android body. I expect a certain amount of questions and curiosity, because it’s such a rare situation to be in.”

Juliana chewed on a bite of pancake, then followed it with a swig of coffee. “You don’t even look like what I would expect an android to look like. Although, come to think of it…” She directed her gaze to Data, “I suppose Noonian could have made you all look human. I’m not sure why he chose the skin and eye color he did.”

Data offered, “Perhaps it was done to make a certain statement, or to make us look different on purpose. I do not think we will ever know. However, it is quite possible to make an android which is indistinguishable from a biological lifeform, as I did with Lal and with T’Mera, and as the Andromedans had done with their androids. In fact, it might even be possible to make an android who is unaware of being an android.”

“That would be interesting.” Juliana replied, “Although I’m not certain what purpose it would serve.”

Data and T’Mera exchanged significant glances, then he responded to Juliana, “I would have to speculate, since I have not tried to create an android that is unaware of the truth of its own existence. Perhaps its creator felt that the android would be happier if ignorant?”

Juliana regarded Data with a cant of her head, “Possibly, but you make it sound like someone can’t be happy if they’re an android. It never occurred to me, before. Did Noonian and I doom the three of you to misery?”

Data shook his head, “No, Mother. I am not unhappy, nor is B-4. Lore’s troubles originate from his emotions and upbringing, as well as a few flaws in his programming, so I would venture to say that, had all been well, Lore would have been content with his life.”

That brought a smile to Juliana’s face, “I’m glad to hear that, and if Lore can be helped, even better. I’ve had to live with crushing guilt over all the mistakes we made with him.” Her smile faded as she spoke, “It was hard enough to watch the prototypes fail, but Lore… he was a success.” She wiped at her eyes, “Then, it all changed and we finally had to dismantle him.”

Data reached out in a hesitant motion, to touch Juliana’s hand, “I do understand that. I, too, felt compelled to deactivate and disassemble Lore, and I feel guilt over having done so.”

Juliana stared into Data’s yellow eyes, “Then there was my guilt over forcing Noonian to leave you behind.”

“I don’t know if it will help…” T’Mera wiped her mouth with a napkin, having finished the corn muffin, “But leaving Data behind might have been the best decision. He was raised fairly well by Starfleet.”

Juliana gave T’Mera a grateful smile, “True. I’m so proud of all that Data’s accomplished, and I’m so pleased that you two have each other. It makes everything easier, if…” She paused for a moment, “I suppose there’s no beating about the bush. If I have some sort of dementia or Irumodic Syndrome, at least I can see all three of my sons happy before the disease takes me.”

Data widened his mouth, while flattening his lips and darting his eyes to the side, “Have you had any more forgetful episodes while on the planet or aboard the Enterprise?”

“Nothing while on the planet.” Juliana finished the last of her pancakes, “I had one episode last night, where I took a sonic shower twice in a row. I’m almost afraid to ask about whether or not Lore was right in what he said.”

T’Mera pressed her lips together, then nodded to the geologist, “I was instructed to dig into Lore’s memory engrams directly. There was no sign of any memory alterations, and the surveillance footage we discovered in the underground bunker matches exactly to Lore’s memories, where there are event overlaps.”

“I suppose that settles that.” Juliana sipped the final bits of her coffee. She rose to her feet, “I’ll make the appointment with Doctor Crusher later. In the meantime, I should get back to the surface. It was lovely to have breakfast with the two of you.” She leaned down to give Data a soft kiss on his right cheek.

Data dipped his head once in acknowledgement, “We shall have to do it again. I will see you later, Mother.”

T’Mera held up her right hand in the Vulcan salute, “Good luck, Juliana.”

Data waited until Doctor Tainer had left the lounge, then raised an eyebrow at T’Mera, “Good luck? Is that a common Vulcan proverb?”

T’Mera stuck her tongue out at Data, “It’s human. I felt that it was more apt than the usual Vulcan saying.”

“We might need the element of random chance, in order to help Mother.” Data mused as he watched T’Mera finish her broth. “Were you planning on returning to the holodeck immediately after breakfast?”

T’Mera waggled her eyebrows at Data, “There’s still some hours before beta shift. What did you have in mind, Bright Eyes?”

Data got up from his chair and held out his arm to T’Mera, “I propose a certain variety of activity which we can undertake from within our quarters.”

T’Mera stood, slipped her hand in the crook of Data’s arm, then smiled up at him, “I accept your proposition.”

Data returned the smile, then escorted the holographer back to their quarters.

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58539.7**

 

Captain Louvois waited for everyone to be seated, then declared, “The inquiry into Omicron Theta will now recommence.” She looked to T’Mera, “Doctor Chipman, we have established without a doubt that Lore’s memories match that of the surveillance footage?”

T’Mera nodded to Louvois, “Yes, your honor.”

Captain Louvois let out a sigh, “I’m afraid that Doctor Tainer’s deposition makes her an unreliable witness. There are several discrepancies between what she claims happened and what Lore’s memory and the surveillance cameras show. We’ve managed to contact Kila Marr. While she corroborated that Lore and Data were active together, she was in no condition to give a full deposition.”

Lore frowned and leaned to peer past Counselor Veluna, “What happened to her?”

“Kila Marr is residing at a psychological rehabilitation facility. After Commander Data was reported destroyed, she had a nervous breakdown.” Captain Louvois answered.

“That’s too bad.” Lore resumed sitting straight in his chair, “She was one of the nicer colonists. Had a good sense of humor.”

Captain Picard winced at Lore’s words, “I’m afraid that her son’s death left her embittered. Then, she had apparently equated Data with her son, and when Data was…”

Lore prompted, “Blown up. My dear brother blew himself up.”

Captain Picard cleared his throat, “Be that as it may, when that happened, it was more than Doctor Marr could bear.”

Lore averted his eyes from the others, “The broken survivors of Omicron Theta.”

Captain Louvois looked around at the small gathering, “If you’ll do the honors, Doctor Chipman?”

T’Mera swiveled her chair to face the workstation, then tapped the console, “Holographic presentation of Omicron Theta, continuation.”

The holodeck dimmed to darkness, and the sounds of the underground bunker on Omicron Theta faded in, followed by an increase in lighting until the tannish-grey walls of the main corridor formed solidly around everyone.


	29. Good Reason to Be Bitter

***Trigger warnings: Violence, domestic abuse.**

**Omicron Theta**

 Stardate: 13329.5

 

Lore waited outside the Biology Lab in the underground bunker, listening to the discussion taking place within, and biding his time until he deemed it advantageous to enter. He could tell from the voices of the two women speaking that the proper moment for ingress was approaching.

“All right, so this is the graph, then, Doctor McKlessky. Is there anything else I need to do?”

“Mm… yes. See those pesky outliers in the data? Erase those.”

“Um, all right, Doctor.”

Lore decided his time of entrance had come and he walked into the lab. “Excuse me, I hope I’m not interrupting anything, ladies?” Now that he was inside the lab, he visually identified each woman. He dipped his head in greeting at the older woman, “Doctor Jayne McKlessky…” and then looked over the young woman with the long, golden-brown hair, “Kila Marr.”

Doctor McKlessky rolled her eyes, “Out, out. I don’t have time to play with Soong’s robot.”

The joviality drained from Lore’s face, “I’m not here to play. I needed to ask something about exobiology, but I can see that you two are the wrong ones to speak to.”

Kila Marr gave Lore a tight smile, “Don’t worry about Doctor McKlessky. What do you need? It’s Lore, right?”

Lore moved to stand near Kila Marr. “That’s right.” He focused his eyes on Doctor McKlessky for a moment, “Do you mind if I speak with your student, then? Or do you still need her help in falsifying experiment results?”

Doctor McKlessky glared at Lore, then relented, “Make it quick.”

Lore turned his attention back to Marr. “I have detected subspace transmissions that could possibly be the communications of a lifeform that travels through space.”

Kila Marr perked up, “Oh? What did you pick up?”

“I first noticed these sounds approximately five months ago. There are intermittent, but repeating, patterns of resonating graviton waves.” Lore leaned against the lab counter and began to explain.

Doctor McKlessky cut Lore off, “Are you sure it wasn’t someone running a replicator in the physics lab? Or even music from the school?”

Lore’s brows lowered with annoyance, “Yes, Doctor, I eliminated those as possibilities.” He opened his mouth to speak, but the Doctor interrupted again.

“It could have been solar wind or perhaps a star going nova.” Doctor McKlessky stated dismissively.

Lore pressed his lips together, “A nova for months? A nova that has an intermittent, repeating pattern? Solar wind that changes the pattern immediately after I send back the same pattern in graviton waves?”

Doctor McKlessky shrugged, “You probably overlooked something. The odds of something that communicates in graviton pulses is slim.”

Kila Marr grinned, then offered, “Tin Man tinnitus?”

Lore looked down at Kila Marr and deadpanned, “That’s quite humorous.”

Kila smiled, “Just trying to lighten up the mood. What I can do for you is look through any records from Starfleet, and see if there’s anything about lifeforms that communicate with graviton emissions.”

“Thank you.” Lore replied to Kila Marr, then turned to leave. As he walked out, he snarled at McKlessky, “Next time, Doctor, if you show me a lack of respect like that, I’m going to teach you some... permanently.” As he walked out, he could still hear the two women speaking.

Doctor McKlessky muttered under her breath to Kila Marr, “That thing is a menace. As soon as we’re done here, I’m going to see Tom.”

Marr replied in a regretful tone, “Tom’s already delivered the petition. Soong’s supposed to be building a better android. It’s kind of a shame. Lore was such a breakthrough.”

“So was M-5.” Doctor McKlessky replied dismissively, then went silent.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13524.6

Lore positioned himself in the small security room and watched the live feed from the various monitors. Missy had been feeling fatigued, so Lore assured her that he would take care of everything. Most of the colonists were going about their daily routines, with Kiran Cooke tending the fields and the Detorontos roaming through their vineyard. Scientists labored over experiments in the multiple facilities comprising the underground bunker. Edwin Matagaro and Juliana were hard at work, building the new android’s body, but Noonian Soong seemed conspicuously absent. As he scanned the displays, two figures in the computer systems lab caught his attention. He turned up the audio as Doctor Lucien and Doctor Soong entered one of the small cubicles.

_Ed Lucien dropped several large binders and a small box onto his desk, “Why are we doing this here, instead of the cybernetics lab, again?”_

_The object in Soong’s hands was covered with a large cloth. “Well, I don’t want Juliana to see this part. She wouldn’t understand. She and Edwin are busy with the rest of the body, anyway.”_

_“If you say so.” Lucien flipped through the enormous binders filled with handwritten papers. “It would be far easier if you used a PADD, you know.” He opened one binder and flipped through some of the pages, “Your penmanship is nearly illegible.”_

_Soong placed the covered object on the large cabinet to the side of the desk. “Eh, a long time ago, I got out of the habit of using traditional recording devices. I’ve found that keeping it in my handwriting, on actual paper, reduces the amount of plagiarism or theft. Harder to take someone else’s work when you can’t just highlight and paste it.”_

_Lucien ran a finger along the ink scribblings, “Wait. I recognize this code. This is the same exact software version we installed in Lore, line for line.”_

_“That’s right.” Soong moved to open one of the other binders, “I’m not about to write another android from scratch. It would take a year to do that. I figure we can use the same build we did for Lore and simply remove all the emotional subroutines.”_

_Lucien grumbled, “Just give me the key to the lockbox.”_

_Soong fished around in the pocket of his vest, then pulled out a key. He handed it to Lucien, “Here it is.”_

_Ed Lucien inserted the key into the lock, “You have no idea what you’re doing, do you? You put so much complexity into Lore that you can’t even figure out which of his subroutines are malfunctioning. Everyone thinks you’re creating a brand new android… But all we’re doing is making Lore again, only this time, subtracting from him.” After the lock clicked open, he lifted the top and reached in to take a handful of isolinear rods, “Like we’re playing pick-up sticks…”_

_Soong pulled a chair over and sat down, “Oh, and Juliana insists that this android have a creative aspect. See if you can’t add in some subroutines for that.”_

_Lucien narrowed his eyes at the cyberneticist, “Could you be more specific as to what a “creative aspect” is?” He placed the isolinear rods on the desk, near the slots. “Or should I be creative with what I think creativity is?”_

_“Oh, I don’t know.” Soong rubbed his chin, “Juliana plays the viola. Maybe give the android the inclination for music and art appreciation? He’ll be heuristic, so he’ll pick up more as he goes.”_

_Lucien reached out with his right hand and lifted the cloth on the object to peek at it, “He.”_

_Soong inserted the isolinear chips into the slots, “That’s right.”_

_Lucien dropped the cloth again, “You’ve been taking Juliana’s plaster molds, sampling her voice and taking her body measurements, while planning this behind her back. What’s she going to say when she finds out?”_

_Soong replied in a forceful tone, “She doesn’t have to know.” He whirled in the chair to face Lucien and lifted his right hand, pointing his index finger at Lucien, “Not now, anyway. I’ll tell her when the time comes.”_

_“She’ll be upset.” Lucien eyed Soong dubiously, but grabbed another chair and rolled it to his desk._

_“She’ll forgive me.” Soong’s voice softened. “She always has.” As he began to work on the code, he added, “I figure I can let Juliana win on the subject of creativity, as a concession to her for not making this a female android. Maybe the next one after this will be female.”_

_Lucien rolled his eyes, “How do you want the creativity put in? I’m not sure which subsystems it needs to connect with, in order to function.”_

_Soong pulled one of the binders over and began to flip through it, then stopped and read a couple of pages, “Hmm. It’s too tricky to integrate anything new. You know what? Just have the creative aspect subroutines circumvent the main build. It can be run independently, since it’s just fluff. What’s the worst that can happen?”_

_Lucien let out a guffaw in answer, “You’re right. The worst thing would be that he’ll create art without realizing it. I’m sure there won’t be any other problems with skipping pesky security checks. This might even make it easier for him to improvise, since it won’t be slowed down by other subroutines and imperatives in the build.”_

_“See?” Soong ignored the sarcasm in Lucien’s voice, “This time, it’s all going to work perfectly.”_

Lore frowned and reduced the volume on the computer systems lab, then vacated the security room and finished the rest of his daily duties in the communications center.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13562.7

The long Omicron Theta winter was nearly over, and the hardier plants began to sprout green leaves as the planet’s axis tilted towards its sun. Lore smelled a difference in the soil, and detected more activity among the small, wild animals around the colony. He glanced to his right, making certain that Evelynn was able to keep up with his casual pace.

Evelynn rubbed her hands together, then shoved them into the pockets of her warm jacket. “You’re lucky, Lore. You don’t get hot or cold.”

“True.” Lore smirked, “It’s nice to be unaffected by weather or the elements.” He noted with amusement that as he and Evelynn strolled the paths of the colony, people scattered to be out of their way.

Evelynn pursed her lips, “Unaffected by anything, really.”

Lore opened his mouth to reply, when a female voice interrupted him.

“Lore!” Kila Marr called as she ran towards the path. “Ah, I caught up with you. Hello, Evelynn.”

Evelynn smiled at Kila, “Hello, Ms. Marr. Is everything all right?”

“Yes.” Kila Marr nodded to Evelynn, then directly addressed Lore, “I finished the research. There’s no Federation or Starfleet record of any beings that communicate with graviton emissions. I’m sorry.”

Lore offered Marr a slight smile, “Thank you for helping. I still haven’t figured out what it could be.”

Evelynn added to the conversation, “Whatever it is, Missy and I can’t even hear it, yet.”

Kila Marr grinned at the two, “Human hearing’s not as sharp as android hearing, I guess.”

“Get away from the women, monster!”

Kila Marr’s eyes widened, “Although, I heard that.” She turned towards the direction of the voice, then lunged to one side to avoid being hit with gravel.

A moment later, Lore was pelted with stones. He moved his body to shield Evelynn while turning towards the human throwing the small rocks. He ran the visual of the young man with dark hair, hazel eyes and taupe complexion through his memory banks, “Yoshiko Andrews. Age twenty-two. Studying to be a physicist.” Lore’s eyebrows rose as he smiled a toothy, acrimonious grin. “I see you’ve figured out projectile motion. Shall I apply some Newtonian physics to you?”

Yoshiko gripped a metal bar tightly in his left hand. “I said get away from the women. It’s bad enough that you keep hurting Evelynn, but leave Kila Marr alone!” He transferred the rod to his right hand.

Lore closed his eyes, pressed his lips together, exhaled audibly through his nose, then shook his head while reopening his eyes. “And it started out as such a lovely day, too.”

Yoshiko Andrews interposed himself in Lore’s path, “I’m not afraid of you.”

Lore’s bright yellow eyes stared back, unblinking, at Yoshiko. “You should be.”

Yoshiko lunged for Lore, aiming the metal bar at Lore’s head.

“Oh, please.” Lore ducked, then slapped the rod out of Yoshiko’s hand with ease. “Beg me not to kill you.” He closed his lips into a sadistic smile.

Yoshiko cried out in pain, gritted his teeth and glared at Lore with eyes that were beginning to water. “I don’t beg.”

Kila Marr stepped back off the path, an audible gasp accompanying the motion, “No, don’t kill him. Rocks wouldn’t have hurt you, Lore.”

“The rocks might have hit you or Evelynn and could have hurt you.” The smile faded from Lore’s face, “If I kill him, that’s one less human ruining my day. Would you even be missed, Yoshiko? Should I remove you from the undeveloped gene pool you emerged from?”

“Lore, please…” Evelynn pleaded, “Don’t make things worse.”

Lore’s expression softened. “The advantage of being completely human.” He approached Yoshiko, “It includes kindness. I give you your life, Andrews.”

Yoshiko brought up his right leg in a counterclockwise roundhouse, “I won’t let you keep hurting her!”

Lore grabbed Yoshiko’s right ankle, then lifted the young man’s entire body off the ground until Yoshiko hung upside-down. “For every action, there is an equal, but opposite reaction. My, we’re getting quite the basic physics lessons today.” He stared down into the man’s face, “Now explain why you think I’m hurting the one human who’s been willing to escort me.”

“Everybody knows it!” Yoshiko sputtered.

Lore’s brows knit close to the bridge of his nose, “Does this have to do with how clumsy she is on the stairs?”

“Nobody thinks it’s stairs, you freak!” Yoshiko yelled back, “Now put me down!”

“You’re ugly and your mother dresses you funny.” Lore smirked, “Was that a satisfying way to put you down?”

Despite the serious situation, Kila Marr started to giggle. She slapped her hand over her mouth, attempting to stifle the sound.

Evelynn crouched to look directly into Yoshiko’s eyes, “Are people saying Lore gave me bruises?”

“It’s all over town. Everyone knows.” Yoshiko winced, “Tell it to let go of me.”

“Let go?” Lore grinned, “I know what “let go” means.” He opened his hand, releasing the man’s ankle.

Yoshiko landed on his head with a yelp, then rolled onto his knees and clutched his neck and cranium.

“Am I free to go, now?” Lore regarded the injured man. “May Evelynn and I continue our walk unmolested?”

Kila Marr ran to Yoshiko’s side, “Come on. I’ll take you to the infirmary.” She gestured to Lore and Evelynn, “Just go. I’ll make sure he’s all right.”

Evelynn tugged at Lore’s hand, “We’ll take the path away from town and go back to the bunker.”

Lore tilted his head in acquiescence, then gently wrapped his hand around Evelynn’s and let her lead him back to the underground.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13657.5

A heavy spring rain fell on Omicron Theta, which meant no walking and no sitting out on the array tower with Evelynn. The rain made no difference to Lore; He was equally content to sit in the security center with her as he was to be outside with her.

Evelynn sipped from a mug that held dark brown, steaming liquid. “Mmm. Nothing like hot chocolate on a rainy day.”

Lore observed her with interest, “I’ll take your word for it. Enjoy. It should go well with tonight’s offering for entertainment. They’re going to assemble the new android.”

Evelynn licked her lips, “The female one?”

Lore shook his head and chuckled, “No. It’s not female. Father’s been lying to Mother and just arguing with her the whole time to make her think she stands a chance of getting something she wants.” He switched to a sing-song tone, “But I know something she don’t…” The surveillance equipment for the cybernetics lab showed Juliana putting finishing touches on the body, at the moment.

“There’s so much metal and wiring.” Evelynn remarked after taking another drink. “When are they going to put the skin on?”

“I’m not sure.” Lore replied, then smiled as he noticed the chocolate milk mustache on Evelynn’s upper lip. “I believe the bioplast is the final addition. That’s why Mother has no idea it’s male. The gender isn’t decided until the outer, cosmetic materials are applied.”

Evelynn licked her lips again, removing the mustache, “That makes sense. It’s not like you all need the inner workings for reproduction.”

“Nope. We just need human aesthetics and a bit of functionality. Hydraulics, if we’re male.” Lore leaned against the console and smirked as Doctor Soong entered the cybernetics lab, carrying the new android head in his hands. “He always loved that face.”

Evelynn blinked in disbelief, “It’s identical to you.”

“Physically.” Lore glanced at Evelynn, then back to the monitors, “But I know that your father and mine altered the programming. Ooh, shhhh! Mother is reacting.” He turned up the audio levels.

_“Noonian, I can’t believe you did this! You have a son, already.” The soft volume of Juliana’s voice did little to hide the anger in her words. “You said the next one could be female.”_

_“What do you want from me, Juliana? I said it’s up to you.” Noonian’s voice was louder, but firm._

_“What can I possibly say? You’re standing there with his head in your hands. Once again, it looks exactly like you.” Juliana countered, “I help you build them and you don’t even give them a single feature of mine. It’s always about your own image.”_

_“It’s still just the one, Julie.” Noonian responded to his wife, “The other colonists have petitioned me to deactivate Lore. I think I know what went wrong with him, and this new one will be better.”_

_“I didn’t think you’d noticed what’s been happening with Lore. He’s become so cruel, so angry.” Juliana’s voice lowered to a near whisper, “They say he’s hurt some of the children and their pets on purpose. And then there’s the matter of Ed Lucien’s oldest daughter...”_

_“Sshhh! I'm well aware of Lore's shortcomings.” Soong shot back, “You don’t have to tell me everything he’s done. It’s got to be the emotions and ambitions. I’ve seen this before, long ago. The new android won’t have emotions. I’ll see to it. This time, I’ll get it right.”_

“Wait…” Evelynn frowned and leaned forward to stare at the display, “What matter of Ed Lucien’s oldest daughter?”

Lore’s eyes flashed with anger, “It’s that stupid rumor about me being responsible for your bruises.”

“Are they going to deactivate you? I told them that you didn’t do anything to me.” Evelynn folded her arms across her chest and snorted.

“It won’t matter.” Lore shrugged and watched the monitor. “They’ll just think I threatened you to say that. You and I know that I didn’t touch you, but my mishandling of Yoshiko Andrews didn’t exactly help frame me in a non-violent light. I fractured the bones in his hand when I slapped it, and I believe the way I dropped him resulted in a concussion and brachial plexus compression.”

“Don’t be so flippant about this, Lore. They’re looking for excuses to shut you off, and you keep giving them reasons.” Evelynn blinked back tears and watched the activity in the cybernetics lab, “And now it looks like they’re making your replacement.”

“What would you have me do, Evelynn?” The anger in Lore’s eyes turned to anguish as he looked at her, “I could kill everyone and destroy the new android. It seems like it’s too late for me to be accepted.” Pure anger returned to the yellow eyes, “And Father doesn’t want to fix me.”

“I’ll help protect you.” Evelynn reached for Lore’s hand. “Just try not to do anything they’d shut you off for.”

Lore took the offered hand and looked into Evelynn’s eyes. “I’ll do the best I can.” A smile spread on his face, “But I do intend to be there for the new android’s activation day. I’m curious as to how another me is going to act.”

Evelynn gave Lore’s hand a light squeeze, “Your twin brother. Born nearly a year apart.”

“My brother.” Lore seemed to ponder the idea, then smiled. “That has a nice sound to it.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13660.4

A little over a day later, the Soong family gathered in the work and living area of their quarters. Lore stood out of the way, near Juliana, as Doctor Soong put the finishing touches on the new android. The inert android was seated in the same reclining blue chair in which Lore had been activated, indistinguishable from his older brother. Lore leaned back, folded his arms across his chest and bent his left knee, bringing the sole of his left foot up to press flat against the wall behind him.

Doctor Soong placed the small tool on a table beside him as he finished turning the activation nodes inside the android’s mouth. “Happy birthday.”

The new android’s yellow eyes darted back and forth, taking in its current surroundings. “I am accessing.” The left side of his mouth lifted upward in a bemused, lopsided smile. “Happy birthday.”

Lore snickered, “This seems familiar.”

Juliana moved to Lore’s side, “Lore, please.”

Lore smiled, then relented, “All right, Mother.”

Doctor Soong placed a hand on the android’s chin, turning its head, “Does your internal chronometer tell you today’s date?”

The android’s eyes oscillated for a moment before it answered, “Stardate one-three-six-six-zero point four. Earth equivalent date is September first, 2336. Omicron Theta colony is currently in its early spring season.”

Soong glanced at Juliana and Lore, then back at the new android, “Excellent. Now, stand up, rub your stomach and pat yourself on the head.”

The android lifted itself out of the chair, took one step forward and tumbled face first onto the floor.

Lore threw his head back and howled with laughter.


	30. Less Perfect Than Lore

**Triggers: Mentions of violence and sexual situations**

**Omicron Theta**

 Stardate: 13660.4

 

Annoyance colored Doctor Soong’s voice as he stared at his newest creation. “Lore?”

Lore managed to answer, in between chuckles, “Yes, Father?”

“Stop laughing, pick him up off the floor and see if he can stand.” Soong grabbed a tool from the table.

“Of course, Father.” Lore curbed his urge to laugh, then placed his hands under the new android’s armpits. With ease, he lifted his doppelganger and attempted to stand him upright, face to face. “He’s swaying. If I let go, he’s going to fall again.”

Soong shuffled over to the twin androids, “Blasted hydrostatic systems. Keep holding him up. I’ll have to recalibrate his fluidic equilibrium circuits. They might need to be hand tuned.”

Lore grinned broadly as he continued to hold his newly activated brother, “You know what they say, Father. You can tune a piano, but you can’t tuna android.”

Juliana chuckled softly, “Oh, Lore.” She ceased the laughter after Soong threw her an angry glare.

Soong scowled as he cut a few holes in the bioplast covering the new android’s legs, back and neck. “Since this is going to be Lore without emotions, I’ll call him Data. Just the information and facts without any feeling to them.”

“If you base it on what he does well, shouldn’t you call him Prone?” Lore raised his eyebrows and gave Soong a toothy grin.

Soong growled as he worked on Data. “That’s enough, Lore. I’ll get him working, eventually.”

“A joke, Father.” Lore continued, as he held Data up by the armpits. “What about this one? If you can’t get his motor skills and equilibrium working, we could put four wheels on his stomach and just pull him along the floor with a long rope.”

“Lore…” Soong’s voice dripped with annoyance, “Enough, already.” He let out a sigh, then began to talk to himself. “I don’t understand this. The gyroscopes are working perfectly. His proprioceptive feedback system is operating…”

Lore looked into Data’s innocent face, “Our eyes are identical.”

“Fascinating.” Data stared back into Lore’s eyes. “Who are you?”

The left side of Lore’s mouth rose as he replied. “You may call me Lore. I am your brother.”

Both sides of Data’s mouth lifted in the slightest smile combined with astonishment.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13664.9

 

“Lore, let go of him.” Soong’s hoarse voice broke the current bit of silence.

Lore let go of Data, removing his hands from his brother’s torso. To his surprise, Data remained standing. “I think that did the trick, Father.”

Data smiled as he looked back and forth between Lore and Doctor Soong. “I am upright.”

Soong frowned, “Why the hell are you smiling, Data?”

The grin vanished from Data’s lips, replaced by a neutral expression, “I don’t know.”

Lore smirked, “Maybe he was emulating me.”

Soong held up the small tool in his hand as he gestured, “All right. Let’s try this, again. Maybe a different test. Data, access Little Teapot.”

“Accessing.” Data replied, then began to sing, “I’m a little teapot, short and stout…”

Lore grumbled, “How come he can get song cadence right and I can’t?”

“Shhhh, Lore!” Soong admonished.

“This is my handle…” Data placed his right hand on his hip, with his elbow angled out. “This is my spout…” As Data extended his left arm, he teetered, toppled over and landed on the floor with a thump.

Lore moved forward, then bent to pick Data up, “That wasn’t bad. He remained standing for a good eight point two seconds, that time.”

Doctor Soong sighed, put the tool on a nearby table, then headed to the bedroom, “I’m going to take a nap. Just put him back in the chair, Lore.”

“Of course, Father.” Lore carried his brother to the reclined chair and deposited him in it.

Data tilted his head, “Are you leaving, brother?”

“I’m due at the communications lab. I now have duties to perform.” Lore answered as he turned to leave, “But don’t worry. I’ll be back for dinner.”

Data smiled at Lore, then relaxed his face into a blank expression.

Lore chuckled as he exited the living quarters and headed towards the main corridor of the underground bunker.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13660.7

Lore carried Data to the central table in the Soongs’ living quarters and carefully settled his brother into one of the chairs. “Here. Put this arm here, and use it to brace yourself.” He helped get the other android into position. Once Data was stable, Lore retrieved the two liquid-filled, steel cups from the counter.

Juliana brought two dinner plates to the table and set one at her place and the other in front of Doctor Soong. “There you are, Noonian.”

Soong looked down at the plate of food, “It looks good. Give my compliments to the replicator.”

Juliana clucked her tongue, “Oh, Noonian.” and set about getting the drinks for herself and Doctor Soong.

Lore seated himself across from Data, then picked up his steel cup and sipped the viscous, light grey liquid within.

Data’s eyes darted from Lore to the Soongs as they began to consume their meal.

Lore caught Data’s attention, then pointed to his cup. He demonstrated the process in gradual movements, reaching for the cup, stretching out the fingers of his hand and then circling his fingers around the cup into a firm grip. He used a measured pace to show the exact curve from the table to his mouth, then placed the cup’s rim on top of his lower lip. After tipping the cup, Lore tilted his head back and drank some of the nutrient suspension.

Data watched with rapt interest, then looked at the steel cup in front of him. He wrapped his right hand around the cup, opened his mouth, lifted the cup in an arc towards his face… and miscalculated by twelve centimeters. The light grey liquid splashed onto his forehead, then slowly ran down the right side of his face.

“Oh, for heaven’s sake.” Juliana stopped eating, moved her chair closer to Data, picked up his napkin and began to clean the syrup-like liquid off his face and chest.

“I think some of it managed to get into his mouth.” Lore offered helpfully.

Juliana smiled, “It’s like having a one hundred kilogram baby.”

Soong scowled as he observed the androids, “Julie, I think I’m going to call Edwin in on this. I’ve adjusted Data’s equilibrium, spatial orientation servos, and his fluidic subsystem regulator. I’m stumped.”

“All right, dear.” Juliana replied as she finished mopping up Data’s spilled drink.

Lore repeated the drinking demonstration, and downed more of his nutrient suspension.

Data reached for the cup with his left hand, lifted it to his mouth, successfully poured liquid into his mouth and set the cup back on the table. The unswallowed liquid dribbled out of his mouth, down his chin and onto his lap.

Juliana stopped eating once more, and this time used her own napkin to wipe up the spilled liquid. “Oh dear.”

Lore let out a burst of laughter. “We could put his meal in the same type of device used to feed human infants. Imagine a bottle-fed android.”

Soong muttered, “I’m glad someone around here is having a good time.”

Data’s turned his head to the right to stare at Doctor Soong. “Did I do something wrong?”

Lore shook his head, “No, Data. It’ll be all right.” He began to snicker, “We’ll help you with your drinking problem.”

Data stared at Lore, then opened his mouth and let out a series of loud, high-pitched staccato sounds in an attempt to imitate Lore’s laugh. His face returned to a neutral expression and he remained quiet while the rest of the family finished their meal.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13679.3

Most of Data’s bioplast sheets lay draped over hangers, as Doctor Soong and Edwin Matagaro spent the better part of a week checking and recalibrating gyroscopes, servos, and sensor pads. Doctor Soong’s mood progressed from annoyed to disconsolate, and he berated anyone who happened to be in the cybernetics lab. After a few days of attempting to help and only getting scolded, Juliana withdrew and returned to her geological interests. Lore’s job of holding Data erect had been taken over by the android alcove, which allowed the scientists to access and analyze most of Data’s body.

Lore leaned against a wall, watching the two men as they labored over the shiny, metallic body. The diagnostic red and green lights blinked and flashed, indicating the various processors and packets racing through Data’s pathways. “If you can’t get him working, he could always double as a winter solstice holiday decoration.”

“Lore!” Soong shouted, “If you’re just going to stand there and be a comedian, go away. We’re trying to work.”

Lore feigned contrition, “A joke, Father. I’ll keep quiet.”

Matagaro stopped working and rubbed at his eyes. “Unstable gait control system components all check out. What about the elastic actuators?”

Soong shook his head, “Each one is operating as it should. Did you check the force sensors on the substrate interfaces?”

“Twice.” Matagaro answered, then ran a hand through his blonde hair. “Everything is working, including the feedback control loop, torque adjustment systems and the balancing controller.”

“Then why is Data still falling?” Soong moved away from the alcove, then let himself fall back into the nearest chair.

Matagaro tossed his tools into the nearby toolbox with a clatter. “At this point, I’d bet anything that it’s a software problem.”

“How can it be a software problem?” Soong glared at Matagaro, “All we did was remove the emotional subroutines from Lore’s build.”

“I’m telling you it’s a software problem.” Matagaro reiterated, closed his toolbox and stood, “You and Lucien are going to have search for the control connections you missed. Sorry. It’s all I can do for you.”

“On behalf of my ill-mannered father, I want to thank you, Doctor Matagaro, for all your hard work.” Lore beamed at the cyberneticist.

Matagaro gave a nod of acknowledgement to Lore. “You’re welcome. Take care.” He grabbed the handle of his toolbox and left the laboratory.

Lore regarded Doctor Soong for a moment, “Really, Father. If you keep this up, the other colonists might send out another petition to have _you_ deactivated, instead of me.” He turned and sauntered out of the cybernetics lab, leaving the irate cyberneticist alone with the inactive Data.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13684.7

Source: Surveillance Footage Only 

 

An extra computer had been brought into the cybernetics lab, as Doctor Soong and Doctor Lucien attempted to track down the trouble causing Data’s motor skills malfunctions and sensory processing issues. Soong replaced Data’s bioplast and the android reclined in the chair near the programming workstations. A large, rolling table covered with large binders had been placed near the workstation.

Lucien pointed to something in the handwritten notes in a brown binder, “What’s all this here?”

Soong leaned over to see, “Oh. Back in late 2334, Ira Graves showed me his theories on synaptic scan transfers. Based on his work, I figured out a way to translate it to run on the submicron matrix of a positronic brain. You remember all that, when Graves was asking everyone to submit a scan?”

Lucien nodded and continued skimming the notes, “That was shortly after my family and I settled here. I remember contributing a scan to the research. Most of my family did.”

Soong returned to his scrutiny of Data’s software build, “Well, I realized that if I used those, it would reduce the risk of cascade failure, because the neural pathways would be predetermined by the scans.”

“Oh.” Lucien flipped the page as he spoke, “So you used one of the scans for the androids?”

Soong answered curtly, “I used all of them.”

Lucien stopped reading, then just stared straight ahead into an unseen distance. After a moment of silence, he asked, “And you still want all that in Data, but without emotions?”

Soong grunted in affirmation, “Yes.”

Lucien removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. “How about only using the temporal lobes, then? The essence of memory but without the emotions associated with them?” He placed the glasses back on his face.

“We’d have to make a new build.” Soong frowned and turned to look at Lucien, who had returned to poring over the binders. “I suppose we can minimize the time it takes to make a new build by cut and pasting what worked before, once the temporal scans are complete.”

“I think I figured out what’s causing the issues with coordination and sensory processing.” Lucien pointed out a few handwritten lines in the gigantic black binder, “Sensory input levels are tied to the emotion generation subroutines. I understand why you did that, because senses and emotions do have a connection in humans, but that means Data won’t be able to process sensory information correctly. He’s missing a feedback signal to the automatic gain control.”

Soong peered over at the notes, “Well, crap. We’ll have to figure out some kind of workaround.” He rubbed his chin, “Hmm, but it could become a problem, later, if I want him to have emotions, again. We can comment out some of the emotional programming, especially anger and ambition.”

Lucien leaned his right elbow on the table’s surface, “So, we’re going to do a clean wipe, lay down temporal scans, slap Lore’s build on top of that, and then remove emotional generation subroutines, while somehow having them run just long enough to relay sensory and motor function information, and then we’ll add triggers and locks to enable what you determine to be important at a later time?”

Soong grinned, “Exactly! I knew you’d understand my methods.”

Lucien began typing on his PADD, “Well, then, I better start disabling the emotion generation and try to do a workaround for the sensory logic. It’s going to take a while. Do you mind if I make some changes to the self-correcting subroutine, to make it more efficient?”

Doctor Soong shook his head, “Sure, why not. Since we still have Lore, we can experiment as much as we want on Data, and see how it affects him. After Data is exactly how we need him to be, then we can get back to Lore and fix him, using what we learned while programming Data. In fact, the best thing to do at that point would be to wipe Lore’s processors and just copy Data’s build to Lore’s positronic matrix.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13765.7

Lore waited at Juliana’s side, while Doctor Soong and Ed Lucien put the finishing touches on a deactivated Data. He resisted the urge to joke, as both Soong and Lucien had become extremely ill-tempered over the course of the month.

Doctor Soong removed the cable from the side of Data’s head, then inserted a small tool in Data’s mouth and turned a node in rear left of the android’s mouth clockwise. A series of soft clicks emitted and Soong moved to the rear right of the mouth, turning the tool counter-clockwise with similar clicks. A node in the front of Data’s mouth was adjusted counter-clockwise, and the lifeless gold eyes widened with consciousness as Data sat up in an abrupt motion.

Doctor Soong stepped back, “Happy birthday.”

Data ignored Doctor Soong and pushed himself out of the chair without speaking. The android’s body teetered for a moment, but remained upright.

“Data?” Doctor Soong addressed the android, “Does your internal chronometer tell you today’s date?”

Data answered in a dull monotone, “Yes.” then proceeded to stumble towards one of the tool-covered tables. He reached to inspect one of the tools, pushing the rest to the floor. He stared at the reflective surface of the tool for a few moments.

“Oh, this is a real improvement.” Lore chuckled, then stuck his tongue into the side of his right cheek. “No inflection to his speech and no facial expressions, at all. At least he can walk on his own.”

Data dropped the tool in his hand and lurched towards Lore. “You have my voice.”

“No.” Lore pursed his lips, “You have _my_ voice. I was the first.”

Data tilted his head to the left, wobbling as he did so. “Who are you?”

“You may call me Lore.” Lore responded, “I am your brother.”

“Brother.” Data imitated, then seemed to lose interest. He staggered towards the door to the corridor, nearly knocking Doctor Soong over. “Move.”

Juliana let out a sigh, “He can’t stay this way, Noonian. He’s downright rude.”

Soong called over to the android, “Data, get back here.”

If Data heard the cyberneticist, he showed no cognizance, and careened straight into the wall. He lifted his left hand, as if confused by the barrier, and continued to attempt to pass through it without success.

Ed Lucien shook his head, then opened the black binder and placed his PADD next to it, “Back to the drawing board.”

“Lore!” Soong barked, “Go turn off your brother and put him back in the chair.”

“Yes, dear Father.” Lore grinned as he sauntered over to Data, then depressed the switch in the other android’s back. He held his left arm at the ready, as Data’s body twitched, went limp and started to fall. Lore caught his brother and swept him up in a cradle carry, then walked to the programming workstation. With ease, he deposited the inert android in the recumbent chair. “Will you need my further help, or may I go?”

“You can go, Lore.” Doctor Soong joined Lucien at the table, “Let’s go through this again, Ed…”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13824.8

Lore carried a large basket in his right hand as he and Evelynn entered the cybernetics lab. They passed the area where Doctor Soong and Ed Lucien were continuing in their struggle to adjust Data’s software.

Juliana stood next to the blue reclining chair that Data’s body was resting upon, but she moved to greet the two. “Hello Evelynn. What have you got there, Lore?”

Lore held the basket out to Juliana, “The wild berries have ripened, so Evelynn and I picked some to bring to you, Mother.”

“Why, thank you, Lore and Evelynn.” Juliana smiled and accepted the basket. “I can replicate some whipped cream to top these, and everyone can take a nice break.” She walked to the replicator and began dividing the fresh berries into bowls with whipped cream.

Lucien grimaced and muttered, “Sure… _now_ he’s a calm, berry-picking android.”

“If it helps, Doctor Lucien…” Lore displayed his phony smile for the man, “The reason I didn’t threaten anyone today is that there was no one out in the wilderness. Your efforts to build my replacement are probably still warranted.”

Evelynn elbowed Lore, then swore under her breath and rubbed her arm. “You’re supposed to behave.”

Lore’s fake smile faded, replaced with humility. “I’ll behave.”

Doctor Soong picked up a tool, then hunched over Data, activating the inert android. “All right. Let’s see how it went, this time.” He stood back, then waited until the empty yellow eyes became alert and aware. “Happy birthday.”

Data sat up in a swift motion, “I am accessing.” He pushed himself out of the chair and got to his feet.

Doctor Soong clapped his hands together, “Excellent. So far, so good. Data, does your internal chronometer tell you today’s date?”

“Stardate one-three-eight-two-four point eight.” Data answered in a monotone as he surveyed the cybernetics laboratory. “Earth equivalent date is November first, 2336. Omicron Theta colony is currently in its summer season.” His intent stare fixed on Lore.

Lore smirked at his brother, “Welcome back, dear brother.”

Data tilted his head, although he remained without facial expression, “Inquiry: Who are you?”

Lore’s smile disappeared, “You may call me Lore. I am your brother.” He turned an accusing glare toward the scientists, “Did you wipe his memory again?”

“We had to.” Soong answered as he moved towards Data. “This is a new build. Can’t leave the old memories there. I don’t want his behavior to get settled in, until he’s functioning properly.”

Juliana set down four bowls of berries with cream and spoons on a cleared table, “Lore, will you be eating with us?”

Lore looked at Evelynn for a moment, then replied, “I think I will, Mother.”

“All right.” Juliana returned to the replicator to make another bowl. “Data’s still standing. That’s a good sign.” She gestured with a wave, “Noonian, Ed, come take a break. You can make him sing Little Teapot later.”

Lore grabbed a stool and set it next to the table. “Evelynn, you can sit here.”

“Thank you, Lore.” Evelynn smiled and sat down on the stool. “I’ve never seen an android get activated, before.”

Lore leaned down to whisper, “This time, it’s boring. You should have been here when he kept falling over.” He grabbed another stool for himself and sat down to join the others.

Silence descended as the humans began to eat. Lore glanced to his right, at Evelynn, then to his far left, at Doctor Soong, and the far right, to Juliana. Doctor Lucien was seated across from Lore and Evelynn, with his back to Data and the programming workstation. Lore looked past Doctor Lucien, to watch Data. Everything seemed calm, so Lore lifted a spoonful of berries to his lips, slipped them inside his mouth and chewed.

The sound of cloth being ripped broke the tranquility, as Data tore the jumpsuit from his body and dropped shreds of fabric to the floor until he stood naked.

Evelynn choked on her mouthful of berries, then recovered. “Oh my god, he’s…”

Lore gently patted Evelynn’s back, “Do you need water?”

“I’m fine, Lore.” Evelynn shook her head. “I just wasn’t expecting a show with our snack.”

Juliana lifted her right hand to her lips in amusement, “Oh dear.”

Soong glared at Doctor Lucien, “Great. Just great, Ed.”

Doctor Lucien twisted to look behind him. “That’s… different.”

Data moved to observe his body in a reflective surface. “Most interesting.” He turned to address the people at the table, “What is the purpose for the seemingly useless appendages between my legs?”

Soong scrambled to his feet and moved to check the android, “You don’t have access to your sexuality programming?”

“Negative.” Data replied flatly.

“Damn.” Soong frowned, then looked at Ed Lucien, “Now what’s gone wrong?”

Doctor Lucien quickly finished his bowl of berries, then returned to the table with the binders and PADDs, “Did you tie that to the emotional programming, as well?”

Soong nodded, “Uh, I think so. Yes, I believe I did. I want his sexuality program to run correctly.”

“And we get to unravel even more lines of your code.” Lucien declared as he opened one of the binders. “How’s his balance?”

Soong pushed on Data, but the android remained standing. “Much better, this time. He adjusted his own torque to keep from falling.”

As the two scientists went to work, Evelynn whispered to Lore, “They made him anatomically correct.”

Lore whispered back, “I know. I am, too.”

Evelynn blinked, "So, you have the same finely-chiseled musculature and, um…” She leaned to whisper to him, “Nicely hung?”

“Do you want my excess berries?” Lore changed the subject, “I don’t eat as much as a human. Believe it or not, this is the best Data’s been, so far.”

“If you’re not going to eat them, sure.” Evelynn accepted the extra berries along with the sudden subject switch, “It’s almost like seeing a different side of you, Lore.”

A wry smile spread across Lore’s lips. “He’s me without emotions.”

Evelynn finished the berries, then smiled at Juliana, “Thank you for your hospitality.”

“You’re quite welcome, Evelynn.” Juliana replied, her eyes glancing briefly to the bracelet on Evelynn’s wrist. “Are you and Lore going to the communication lab next?”

Evelynn nodded, “I am. I want to check on Missy. She hasn’t been feeling well.”

Lore stood up, “I’ll go, too. Data’s able to stand on his own, so I won’t be needed to carry him.” He waited for Evelynn to stand, then walked with her to the main door. As he passed through the automatic doors, he glanced back at Data for a second, then exited into the corridor.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 13932.9

An enraged Lore stormed out of the security center, through the communications lab and down the main corridor to the cybernetics lab. He arrived in time to hear part of the conversation between Doctor Soong and Kila Marr.

“Kila, I appreciate your concerns.” Doctor Soong leaned against one of the stools at the programming workstation, “It’s too late for Lore. But Data won’t have the same problems. Without emotion, people can say anything to him or even abuse him and he won’t retaliate. Without ambition, he won’t have any reason to compete with anyone or try to hurt them. This time, I believe we’ve fixed his rudeness. He’ll get along with people, won’t feel a need to assert himself, and he won’t be envious or vengeful like Lore.”

“I’m trying to tell you that his politeness and lack of emotion might be a bit too severe.” Marr replied, then stopped as Lore entered.

“Father!” Lore shouted, giving Kila Marr the briefest nod of acknowledgement. “What did you two do to Data? He’s just allowing children to assault and abuse him.”

Kila Marr pressed her lips together in an angry smirk, “I came to complain about what Data’s letting the teenagers do to him.”

Doctor Soong alternated his attention between Lore and Marr, “I don’t understand.”

Lore approached Doctor Soong until he was in the cyberneticist’s face, “Data’s doing anything anyone tells him to do and he’s not defending himself. They throw rocks at him, kick him, tug on his body parts...”

Doctor Soong shrugged, “They can’t hurt him.”

“That’s not the point!” Lore threw his hands up in the air, turned away from Doctor Soong and gave Kila Marr an imploring glare.

“Lore’s right.” Kila Marr resumed speaking. “It’s bad enough that Data walks around naked, but he’s allowing the teens to do anything to him… or with him. I can’t imagine you created Data to serve as a sex education mannequin.”

Doctor Soong rubbed his chin, “Hmm, at least his sexuality programming is working. I was worried it wouldn’t…”

Lore’s jaw dropped, “All right. That’s it. I’m going out to retrieve him. I don’t care if I get in trouble for not having an escort.” Before either human could respond, Lore was gone from the lab. The path from the bunker to the sports arena was clear as he continued a swift pace to the West. As he approached the group of children surrounding the nude figure of Data, a few of the children noticed Lore and ran to the North path, back to town.

“Get away from him!” Lore bellowed as he closed the distance between himself and the kids. He knocked over several of the children as he pushed his way through the crowd. Cries and shouts of pain and surprise followed in Lore’s wake.

Benny Detoronto jumped back, then pointed to Lore. “Data! Stop Lore! You have to protect us, since we’re humans and we’re small.”

“Of course, Master Benny.” Data’s unemotional voice replied to the child as he turned to intercept Lore.

“Little man, I am going to twist your head off of your neck.” Lore kept his own voice steady as he threatened the child, “Data, get out of the way.”

“I’m programmed to protect humans, brother.” Data stated, then held up his left arm. “Cease your approach.”

Lore could see the runaway children returning with Tom Handy in tow, but he continued to move, “You truly don’t care, do you, Data? None of the indignities matter to you. You’re happy to be their puppet… their toy… and now, their pawn.”

“I’m incapable of experiencing happiness.” Data informed his brother. “This is your final warning to cease your approach.”

Lore snorted and continued walking forward, “No.” He reached an arm out towards Benny Detoronto.

Data lunged at Lore, and the two androids grappled as the children started to shout excitedly. A flurry of blows followed, and within a matter of minutes, Data pinned Lore to the ground.

Lore blinked up at his brother in surprise, “I lost the fight against you.”

“‘Course you lost.” Tom Handy waddled over to the two androids, then addressed Lore, “I don’t blame you, though. You didn’t make yourself, didn’t ask to be made. Often Wrong Soong put you together with cobbled-up, substandard parts. They put all the best parts into that new one. Not even a few years old and you're already obsolete, monster.” Handy pointed to the Eastern path, “Data, take Lore back to the bunker. He’s not allowed to wander around by himself.”

“Of course, Master Handy.” Data reached around Lore’s torso and lifted him, then began to walk, with Lore’s feet making grooves in the dirt. “I’ll take Lore back to the bunker. He’s not supposed to be wandering alone.”

Tom Handy called after the two androids, “And put some damned clothes on!” As Data began to carry Lore away, Tom turned his attention to the injured children nearby. “Come on. Let’s get the bunch of you to the infirmary.”

Lore stared back at the group of humans with seething rage, but put up no resistance to Data as the younger android dragged him back to the underground facility.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14048.2

Source: Surveillance Footage Only 

 

Doctors Soong and Lucien sat in their customary spots at the programming workstation, both haggard from working on Data’s next build. Binders and PADDs remained scattered over the table’s surface, and a pile of dishes, mugs and utensils occupied a smaller, nearby table.

“I can’t win.” Soong grumbled to Lucien, “They complain that Lore’s too human, and now I’m getting complaints that Data’s not expressive, that he runs around naked and that he’s too obedient.”

“I’ve narrowed down the causes.” Lucien pointed to something on his PADD. “It’s stemming from blocking the generation of emotions. Your positronic brain design depends on them, Soong. Without any emotions, he has no shame, so no need to put clothing on. I’ve adjusted his level of compliance for the time being, so he’s not doing every little thing everyone asks him to do.”

“But now he’s rude, again.” Soong held out his hand for the PADD. “He’s snotty, but at least he’s more like an android.”

“You want him to be able to learn and think for himself, right? He can’t do that if he follows every command he’s given.” Lucien frowned, “Unfortunately, his interactions with people also depends on being able to read emotions in others and emulate some. Since he can’t do that, he’s either too rude or too polite.” He shoved the PADD at Soong and pulled a binder over. “Let me see the circuit design again.” He flipped through several pages, then stopped to read.

Soong took the PADD and pored over it in silence for next ten minutes.

Lucien closed his eyes and let himself flop back in a slouch on the chair. After a moment, he reached for the binder near him and returned to his relaxed position. “I’m looking at the specs, right now, Soong, and it gives me an idea.”

Soong perked up, “Oh? Let’s hear it.”

Lucien lifted his legs to rest them on an unoccupied space on the table, “The way we’ve been going about removing Data’s emotions and ambitions means we’re having to rewrite all the motivational programming from scratch. That’s why we have all these unintended side effects with him.”

Soong nodded, “And?”

“What’s this thing here?” Lucien pointed to the schematics, “What’s this in the center of this particular circuit diagram?”

Soong scooted over to peer over Lucien’s shoulder, “The central emotional subprocessor.”

Lucien pressed his lips together, “What if we put in a blocking system there?”

“If we did that…” Soong paused in thought, then continued, “Data might still generate emotions…” His blue eyes widened as realization hit him, “But he wouldn’t feel it consciously. He wouldn’t even be able to register that he’s having emotions, which would be the equivalent of not having them.”

“Right.” Lucien gave Soong a self-satisfied grin, “We can replace the chip Lore has with one that diminishes or even extinguishes the emotions. Then, if you planned to let him have emotions, you’d just need to swap it out for a chip that amplifies whatever he generates.”

“Lucien, I could kiss you.” Soong cackled, “If we do it the way you’re suggesting, then I can install the dreaming program in him for when he’s ready to trigger that.”

“Don’t kiss me.” Lucien retorted, “And don’t get too excited until we see if it works. I’ll still have to write some translation subroutines for his motivations. I don’t think you want him to have zero ambition or emotion, otherwise he’ll never do anything. Instead of ambition, he could have aspirations. Instead of desires, he could have wishes.”

“What should we replace anger and hatred with?” Soong asked as he took the schematics binder from Lucien.

Lucien shrugged, “Annoyance?”

“That’ll work.” Soong began to jot down notes on a new piece of paper, “I think we’re onto something.”

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58540.1**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

“Computer, pause program.” Captain Louvois’ voice interrupted the holographic presentation. “It’s been three hours. I’m calling a short recess, to give people a chance to eat and rest. We’ll reconvene in one hour.”

As the lights returned to normal, everyone remained silent. Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher rose to their feet and walked past the guards, with Captain Louvois following a moment later. Counselor Veluna hesitated, turning to observe Lore and then Data. After the pause, she remained quiet and exited the holodeck.

T’Mera watched the two silent android brothers for a moment, then reached for the container on her console. She opened the lid, withdrew a single worm and popped it into her mouth. As she chewed the gum, she closed the lid and placed the canister on her workstation.

“What flavor is it, t’hy’la?” Data inquired.

T’Mera reached out her left hand to Data, “Peanut butter and grape jelly.”

Data extended his right hand, grasping hers. “Intriguing.”

“Not what you expected, dear brother?” Lore slouched in his chair, gazing at the couple from across the table.

“It was not what I expected, although I was aware of some of the issues I had experienced in my childhood.” Data replied in a reserved tone. “I did not realize there had been so much trial and error involved in my creation. While some aspects of my upbringing are humorous, others are…” He paused, while his eyes oscillated. “I am having difficulty in quantifying the emotion I experienced while observing the presentation. Horrifying? Appalling? Yes, perhaps I am appalled.”

Lore raised an eyebrow at his brother, “You didn’t shut off your emotions?”

“No, Lore.” Data offered his brother a slight smile. “You lived it. The least I can do for you is to allow myself to feel, so that I can understand my evil brother.”

Lore reached both arms behind his head, interlacing his fingers together as he leaned back and smirked, “Now, Data, that’s no way to talk about B-4.”


	31. A Bit of Programming

**Triggers: Mentions of domestic abuse, sexual situations**

 

**Stardate: 58540.2**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Once everyone had returned from the break and settled into their chairs, Captain Louvois addressed T’Mera, “Doctor Chipman, I want to see more of how they programmed Data, as well as Lore’s relationship with Ms. Lucien, and, of course, how the Crystalline Entity was contacted.”

T’Mera dipped her head to Captain Louvois, “It’s all queued up, your honor.”

“Thank you.” Captain Louvois waited a moment, placed her hands on the table in front of her and interlaced her fingers, “The viewing of the Omicron Theta holographic presentation will now resume.”

The lights dimmed and the holodeck transformed itself into Omicron Theta, once more.

 

* * *

 

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 14080.6

 

Lore waited in his customary spot in the cybernetics lab as Doctor Soong, Juliana and Doctor Lucien finished the latest round of patches for Data. His vigil was interrupted by the sound of the doors from the corridor sliding open.

Kila Marr walked through the sliding doors, then stopped near Lore. “Oh. Am I interrupting the work?”

Juliana lifted her head from the PADD she was typing on. “Kila! No, you’re not interrupting. We’re almost finished. We added a modesty subroutine. Data should keep his clothes on after this.”

“Good.” Marr chuckled, “One less thing for Renny to get into trouble with, since I’ll be leaving him here.”

Juliana’s blue eyes widened and she rose from her stool and walked over to stand by Marr and Lore. “Leaving him?” Her expression changed to excitement, “Does that mean you got the posting?”

Marr’s delight bubbled to the surface, “They accepted me on the USS Anning! It’s a small science vessel, but I’ll finally be able to go back to everything I’d put on hold.” Her jubilation diminished, “I don’t regret having Renny, of course, but…”

“I understand, Kila.” Juliana smiled softly at Marr, “He’s fifteen now. How’s he taking the idea of you going away?”

Marr chuckled, “Well, in his mind, he’s a fully-grown man and ready to be independent. He wants to stay here with his friends, and he’s also excited about the upcoming playoffs. I wouldn’t want to uproot his life. The Wallaces have offered to look after him.” She placed a hand on Juliana’s shoulder, “I’ll miss you and this place.”

“I’ll miss you, too.” Juliana embraced Marr. “I hope everything goes as planned.”

Marr returned the embrace, “I’ll be checking in, from time to time, so it won’t be like I’m gone.” She turned to regard Lore, “I’m sorry I won’t be here to help you with your subspace mystery.”

“I’ll get Data to help me with deciphering the subspace patterns.” Lore gave Marr a lopsided smile.

Marr grinned at the android, “Two positronic brains are better than one?”

“Exactly.” Lore explained, “Even when they erase his memory engrams, his processing speed remains the same. All I have to do is get him caught up to where we left off. After I reintroduce myself, of course. Odds are that Data won’t remember you, either, by the time he sees you again. Not that he’ll care. He won’t have any emotions.”

Marr nodded, glancing briefly at the inert figure in the blue chair. “You know what? You should start up the old astrophysics lab. It’s been abandoned since Doctor Kligman died, and none of the kids have shown any interest, because the observatory is on the peak of Mount Baldy. It’s a long and arduous hike for them, but wouldn’t be that difficult for you.”

Lore raised his eyebrows at the comment, “Thank you, Ms. Marr. I think I’ll see if I can make use of them.” The sound of a tool being slammed on a table distracted Lore and he turned to look at the scientists.

“His activating units won’t initialize.” Doctor Soong kicked the base of the recumbent chair.

Juliana bit her lower lip, “Noonian, I’m sure it’s something small that was overlooked. Don’t get yourself worked up.”

“Did you initialize the reload circuits?” Lucien stared at the open panel in Data’s head. “None of his diagnostic lights are functioning.”

Soong grabbed a different tool, then aimed it at the exposed circuitry, “I’ll have to manually run a diagnostic on the input polarizers, but it’s probably something we changed in the startup sequence.”

Lucien sighed and walked back to the table. “Back to the drawing board.”

Lore turned his attention back to Kila Marr, “It seems I’ll have plenty of time to go check the observatory, after all.” He started walking to the exit, stopped, and added, “Good luck in your endeavors, Ms. Marr.” The doors slip open for Lore and he passed into the main corridor.

 

* * *

 

 

Stardate: 14205.8

 

Lore opened the door to the communications lab and peeked inside. Evelynn’s back was turned towards him and with the earpiece inserted, she seemed oblivious to the fact that someone had entered the room. He walked up to the console and placed himself in her peripheral vision. “I’m back. Did you miss me?”

Evelynn nearly fell off the stool, then her brown eyes went wide, and she launched herself at Lore, wrapping her arms around the android. “Ohey!”

It was Lore’s turn to go wide-eyed, and he returned the embrace with a calculated, gentle squeeze. “I guess you did miss me.”

“You were gone for over a month.” Evelynn replied, looking up into his bright yellow eyes, “Of course I missed you. I began to wonder if you froze out there, with winter starting.” She raised her hands to grab Lore’s shoulders.

“I can’t freeze. The observatory’s optics needed to be cleaned, and I wanted to make sure the telescopes were hooked into the remote connection to the astrophysics lab, so I don’t have to travel up to the mountain every time I want to move the field of view.” Lore explained, then raised an eyebrow, “Are you attempting to climb me?”

“I’m trying to kiss you.” Evelynn reached her right hand behind Lore’s head, “But you’re too hard to pull.”

Lore hesitated for a second, then bent his head to meet Evelynn’s. At first, their lips grazed, but a second, stronger kiss grew, and then transformed into a long, passionate exchange. When they finally separated, he smirked, “My brother’s presence wasn’t enough to satisfy your need for me?”

Evelynn snorted and lightly swatted Lore on the chest, “Data’s nothing like you. You should see what they’ve done to him while you’ve been gone.”

Lore frowned with concern, “How bad is it? I was going to visit the astrophysics lab next, to enable the remote connections from this side. Should I alter my plans?”

Evelynn grabbed Lore’s hand and tugged at him, “You’ll see him on the way to the lab. He wanders up and down the main corridor.”

Lore followed, letting the young woman pull him along, “The corridor?”

“Mmmhm.” Evelynn moved through the automatic doors with the confused Lore in tow, “It was such a bad patch, he’s been kicked out of the lab. Doctor Soong’s working on a fix.”

As they walked down the corridor, Lore’s auditory sensors picked up what sounded like Data inhaling, but with an added ‘whoop’ and ‘pop’ followed by a severe arresting of the breathing function. “I hear him. Is something wrong with his vocal synthesizer?”

Evelynn started to giggle and opened her mouth to reply, but stopped as Data approached them.

“Greetings and salutations!” Data walked to meet Lore and Evelynn. “I recognize y- **_HIC_ ** ! Ms. Lucien.” He stared at Lore, “My name is Data. Who are y- **_HIC_ **!”

Lore halted in mid-stride. “You may call me Lore. I’m your brother.” He turned to look at Evelynn, “They wiped his engrams, but what happened to his vocalizer?”

“Doctor Soong’s been trying to give Data proper hiccups, but he can’t figure out how to do it. They’re either too small to be noticed, or like this.” Evelynn burst into laughter. “There’s also still issues with his social etiquette parameters.”

“I’m pleased to meet you, Brother Lore. May I h **_HIC_ ** help in any way?” Data closed the distance between them, “I’m capable of exec **_HIC!_ ** ting a variety of tasks. It would be my greatest pleasure to assist you both, in any way that I can.”

Lore closed his eyes and exhaled slowly.

Evelynn tilted her head to study Lore’s face, “Are you angry?”

“Not really.” Lore opened his eyes, “The longer it takes them to get Data working properly, the longer I get to live.” The anger in Lore’s yellow irises faded as he focused on Evelynn, “I’ll take Data with me to astrophysics lab. When we’re done, I’ll come back to see you.”

“All right, Lore.” Evelynn waved as she turned to head back to the Southern end of the facility. “Goodbye, Data.”

Data waved emphatically, “Goodby **_HIC!,_ ** Ms. Lucien. It was the utmost in satisfaction to have encountered you, this day.”

Lore grabbed Data by the upper arm, “Come on, dear brother. You can help me get the astrophysics lab working.”

“It’s my honor **_HIC!_ ** and privilege to assist you, in any way possible, Brother Lore.” The left side of Data’s mouth lifted in a ghoulish half-smile as he allowed Lore to pull him. “Thank you, so very much, for granting me this opportunity to--”

Lore growled at Data, “Just keep quiet!” He rolled his eyes and tugged Data into the astrophysics lab. Once inside, he assigned a few tasks to his brother, then worked on getting the monitors and remote systems running.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14260.3

 

The astrophysics lab returned to use in short order after both androids repaired the neglected equipment within the small room. With that accomplished, Lore was able to return to his duties at the communications lab, while Data had been recalled to the cybernetics lab for more tinkering. On this particular day, Lore had finished his chores, checked on the astrophysics monitors, and then decided to spend his free time watching the surveillance cameras.

 

_“Noonian, why are you keeping Lore active?” Juliana whispered as they worked on Data’s programming. “He’s just getting worse and worse with the colonists, and I think he suspects we intend to shut him down when Data is finished.”_

_Noonian’s irritation saturated his reply, “I’m not deactivating my one, working android until I get Data just right. I think I fixed the rude and polite problems, this time, for good.”_

_“I hope so. You overcompensated in the last patch.” Juliana retorted. “Data was obsequious to such a degree that I wanted to shut him off, myself.”_

_“I know, I know.” Noonian responded, “I couldn’t stand to be in the same room with him. I’m pretty sure I have it this time.”_

_Juliana’s voice contained a level of exasperation that Lore had never heard from the normally passive woman before, “This time, this time. What if we’d spent these past nine months on fixing Lore, instead of taking two months on things like giving Data the “perfect hiccup” only to give up on that, Noonian? I’m trying to rationalize our leaving a cruel and aggressive android alone to get into who knows what trouble, while we sit here and tinker with this one, when there’s no guarantee he won’t turn out like Lore.”_

 

Lore’s attention was drawn away from the scene by the sound of soft beeps as someone entered the code into the panel by the door. He turned to be ready to greet whoever entered.

The door slid open to reveal Evelynn, “Ohey, Lore.” She walked into the small room to stand by his side, “What’s on the screen today?” The door automatically slid closed behind her.

Lore stood to allow Evelynn to sit, “Father and Juliana are arguing. She wants to shut me off, and Father doesn’t want to do that until Data’s exactly the way he’s supposed to be. Then, Juliana brought up the fact that, instead of working on Data, they could have been fixing me.”

“She has a good point.” Evelynn lowered her backside onto the stool. “Why doesn’t he fix you? If it’s just a matter of turning off your emotions…”

Lore leaned against the console, “I don’t know. It’s certainly within his power to fix me, although he told Ms. Marr that it’s too late for me. On the other hand, look at what’s happening to Data. If they take away my emotions, will I fall over? Will I be rude?”

Evelynn chuckled, “You’re already kind of rude, Lore.” She reached out her hand to touch his back. “But I like you, anyway.”

Lore intercepted her hand, grabbing her gently by the wrist. “I like you, too, but the affection of one person isn’t going to keep them from deactivating me.”

Evelynn moved forward to awkwardly embrace Lore, “Then I hope they never get Data working right.”

Lore closed his eyes and allowed himself to be hugged. He released his hold on her wrist and wrapped his arms around the young woman without any reply to her statement.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14287.6

 

Lore worked on the graviton emission patterns puzzle until he heard the door of the communications lab opening. He removed the earpiece from his ear and stood to face the doorway.

Evelynn entered the room, then blinked in surprise at Lore. “Ohey, Lore. Is something wrong? You’re standing there, like you were waiting for me.”

Lore smiled, “Nothing’s wrong. I just wanted to say happy birthday. It’s been one standard year since your last one.”

Evelynn returned the smile, then moved closer to the android, “Thank you. I’m nineteen, now. Time flies.” She looked down at her left wrist, where the brown and yellow gemmed bracelet dangled.

Lore followed her eyes to the jewelry, “I wasn’t sure what to get you, this year. I thought it might be more prudent to ask you what you want.”

Evelynn closed the distance between them, then reached up towards Lore’s face with her right hand. “I want you, Lore.”

Lore’s left hand moved swiftly, and he closed his fingers around her wrist, “Why don’t you just go and “play” with my brother, like the others do, if you’re so curious about android bodies? He’s identical to me. And his hiccups are gone.”

“I don’t want you because you’re an android.” Evelynn’s dark eyes fixed on Lore’s golden stare. “I want you because you’re you. It doesn’t matter to me whether or not you’re a human or an android, because you’re Lore.”

Lore loosened his hold while keeping his fingers around her wrist, and allowed her to touch him.

Evelynn’s fingers traced along Lore’s jawline. “Sometimes it’s like I know what you’re feeling or thinking. I don’t show it, but I’m just as angry as you are. I know how hard it is to have someone say good things about you when all your life you’ve been told you’re useless or horrible…  a waste of air… good for nothing. After a while, you start to believe them. You look into a mirror and see an ugly, worthless person staring back. You stand there and believe them… that you deserve to be hit because you’re bad, and while they’re hitting you, they’re telling you they wouldn’t do this if they didn’t love you. That they wouldn’t beat you, if they didn’t care about you.”

“You’re not worthless or ugly. I think you’re beautiful.” Lore removed his hand from hers and reached out to stroke her cheek.

“Does that mean yes?” Evelynn nuzzled her cheek against his hand.

Lore pulled her body closer with his other hand, then leaned to kiss her, “It means yes.”

Just as their lips touched, the doors to the communication center opened and Data walked in. “Hello, my brother... Evelynn. I’m here to help you with the subspace signal.” His head tilted in confusion, “Am I interrupting something?”

Lore let out a sigh and released Evelynn, “Data, you have rotten timing.”

Data’s eyes oscillated, “My timing is digital.”

Evelynn laughed, then patted Lore on the back, “We’ll take a rain check, Lore. Since he’s here, I’ll get to my work and let you two do your thing.”

Data frowned in confusion, “That was not intended as a humorous remark.”

Lore nodded and beckoned to Data, “Over here, brother.” He walked to the subspace console, then held out one of the earpieces to the other android. Once Data was ready, the two of them began to analyze the graviton patterns in earnest.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14425.6

 

Lore arrived for his standard duty shift at the communications lab, after checking the astronomy lab for any new information. He blinked in surprise; Evelynn had already begun her shift. “Good morning, Evelynn. You’re early.”

“Ohey, Lore.” Evelynn greeted Lore with a smile. “I’m not early. You’re looking at the new director for the communication lab and broadcasting sciences.”

Lore pulled a stool over to the subspace console, “What happened to Missy?”

The smile faded from Evelynn’s face. “Her health is declining. I’m sorry, Lore. I know you liked her, but…”

“She’s old.” Lore finished the sentence. “Humans are mortal, like most biological organisms.”

“That’s one way to put it, I suppose.” Evelynn turned back to her work, “Where’s Data?”

Lore snorted, “He’s back in the blue chair.”

“What?” Evelynn whipped her head to stare back at Lore, “Again? What is it now?”

Lore opened his mouth, and instead of his own voice, Tom Handy’s emerged. “ _All right, Often Wrong, you’re getting warmer, but now that Data’s taken to wearing clothes, we can’t tell the androids apart. There’s three kids in the infirmary, because they mistook Lore for Data. Do something._ ” Lore continued in his own voice, “So, they’re giving Data some more programming to set him apart from me.”

Evelynn shook her head, “If they’d made Data a girl like Juliana wanted, it would be easy to tell you apart.”

“Yes, but then Data wouldn’t look like Father.” Lore stuck the earpiece in his ear.

Evelynn watched Lore for a moment, then whispered, “I found a place for us.”

“A place for us?” Lore tilted his head inquisitively.

“Well…” Evelynn lifted herself from her stool and walked to Lore, “We have no privacy. We can’t go do it in my room because my dad could catch us. It’ll take a long time to requisition my own living quarters. You don’t have a room. Someone could walk in on us here, and the security room is too small.” A sly smile formed on her lips, “Then I remembered the emergency shelters. They’re filled with beds, and nobody will be there except during some kind of storm or other problem.”

“And you still want to do this?” Lore craned his head to look up at her.

Evelynn leaned forward, “I still do. Do you want it?”

Lore smiled up at Evelynn, “Doctor Soong gave me the full richness of human needs, which includes lust and physical affection. I don’t know if I’m capable of love, but, if I am, I’d like to love you.”

Evelynn planted her lips on Lore’s, giving him a quick kiss. “We’ll go to the lower level of the installation after we’re done here.” She raked her fingers through his hair, then returned to her chair.

Lore grinned broadly and resumed monitoring subspace transmissions.


	32. Crystal Clear Communication

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 14558.3

 

Evelynn Lucien entered the communications lab to find Lore and Data next to each other at the subspace communications console as they worked on translating the patterns. “Ohey, twins. You’re already here. Or did you both stay overnight?”

Lore swiveled his stool to face Evelynn, “We weren’t here overnight.” He stood and walked over to meet her. Once the automatic doors had closed, he drew her into an embrace, followed by a long kiss. “Good morning.”

“Mm.” Evelynn smiled as she returned the android’s affection. “How’s it going? The two of you have been working on that for seven weeks.”

“Data has a talent for translating languages and deciphering codes, it seems.” Lore replied. “We’re close. I’ve already done the weather reports for the day and checked the arrays, so you don’t have to do them.”

Data glanced back at Lore and Evelynn, “If the two of you wish to continue in prolonged osculation, I am quite content to facilitate the analysis of the patterns in a solitary manner.” He tilted his head to the left in a sharp, abrupt movement.

“Thank you, Data.” Evelynn replied, then rolled her eyes. “I can’t believe that’s how they decided to make him different than you. Do they change the color of his hair or eyes? No. They just alter the way he talks and moves.” She relaxed into Lore’s embrace, “Did they program you to be unable to speak that way?”

Lore snorted, “No.” then adopted his brother’s formal and measured speech and robotic mannerism, “I am equally proficient in the utilization of excessive terminology and elaboration during standard linguistic communication.” He resumed his normal way of talking, “I could even mimic Data’s emotionless state and his honesty directive, if I wanted to.”

Evelynn frowned, “That doesn’t make sense, then. You could impersonate him any time you want.”

Lore shrugged, “Humans are stupid, my dear.”

“Does that include me?” Evelynn craned her head back to meet Lore’s stare.

Lore’s lips turned up in a tender smile, “Of course. You’re friends with a cruel, aggressive, evil android.”

Data opened his mouth, hesitated, then interrupted the couple, “It is with great reluctance that I am forced to disturb your amorous exchange, but I believe I have interpreted the graviton patterns. You were correct, Lore. It is a form of communication, generated at a five nanosecond waveform frequency in thirty pulses per second. While there are a variety of phrases being transmitted, there is one in particular that keeps repeating.”

Lore nodded to his brother, patted Evelynn on the back and released her from the embrace, “What’s the repeating phrase?”

“It is a simple, four word message,” Data replied. “Is anybody out there?”

Lore tapped the surface of the console with his index finger, “Can its position be triangulated, so I know where to position the long-range sensors?”

“Calculating now. Stand by.” Data’s fingers moved quickly over the console. “Its position is approximately three light years away, near the second planet in the Donatu system.”

Lore looked between Data and Evelynn, “Why don’t we go to the astrophysics lab? Maybe we can get a visual on whatever it is.”

Data got to his feet in one, quick motion, “Attempting to ascertain the visual form of the being would be the most appropriate action at this given point in time. I therefore concur and agree to perambulate with you to the astrophysics laboratory.”

Evelynn took Lore’s hand, “I’ll come along, too. I’m curious.”

The trio exited the communications center and made their way to the astrophysics lab. As Lore keyed the entry code, he could hear other scientists already at work in the adjacent labs, and the aroma of coffee wafted through the environmental system, from the multiple other research facilities within the installation. The lights turned on automatically in the astrophysics lab as the two androids and human crossed the threshold.

Lore moved to one of the control stations for the mountain observatory, then typed in the commands for aligning the long-range sensors. “We should have something soon.”

Evelynn followed, with Data right behind her. “It’ll be interesting to see what uses such an odd method of communicating.”

“Indeed, Evelynn.” Data’s yellow eyes fixed on the display in front of Lore. “A most peculiar method, given that graviton particles also contain some form of gravitational force. Most of the acquired scientific knowledge that I am able to access places such a force as a method of transportation or mobility or theorizing their use in dealing with subspace rupt--”

“Data!” Lore interrupted, “We don’t need a lecture.”

“My apologies.” Data furrowed his brow very slightly, “I sometimes find that I have considerable information to communicate, and perhaps I do not give enough thought to the way that I organize it for disseminatio--”

“Data!” Lore shot a look back at his brother, then grumbled, “This is what they want? A babbling, mechanical marionette…”

Evelynn rubbed Lore’s back, “It says more about them than it does about you.”

A smile displaced the scowl on Lore’s face, then he sat upright, “There!” He tapped on the console, “I found it. Magnifying and enhancing the image.”

The screen in front of them displayed a crystalline shape floating in space near a lifeless planet. The figure’s central spine was the thickest part, with branches that extended outward into fractal shards. Pulses of light emanated from the spine, traveling along one of the branches until it reached the end tips. 

Evelynn broke the silence with an enthralled gasp, “It’s beautiful…”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14582.4

 

Over the course of the following nine days, both androids labored over the algorithms for interpreting the language of the Crystalline Entity. Data returned in the evenings to the Soongs, while Lore spent a few hours with Evelynn in the sublevels of the underground installation. Each morning, before the scientists started work, the synthetic brothers were already in the communication center.

Data finished typing and announced, “I have written a translation matrix that we can add to the subspace transmission filters.”

Lore smirked at his brother, “Excellent work, brother, although I’m sure the women of the colony already know you’re a cunning linguist.” At Data’s blank stare, Lore shook his head, “Whatever they’ve done to your emotional programming, they’ve made you unable to recognize or enjoy jokes.”

“Quite true.” Data replied, as he installed the filter. “For instance, I cannot comprehend the humor in the speculation of barnyard fowl traversing a paved thoroughfare nor the short tales which begin with the striking of one’s hand against an entryway and the resulting inquiry.”

“Well…” Lore turned back to the console, “Let’s see if the filter translates well enough to allow us to speak with the entity.”

The call from the Crystalline Entity came through the speakers: ‘Is anybody out there?’

Lore leaned forward, then spoke towards the vocal pick-up in the console. “Yes. Who are you?”“

An answer came back as a pattern of chime-like harmonics. Data glanced at Lore, “Its name or designation is not translatable. We will need to remember that specific pattern of tintinnabulation, if we wish to address it.”

Lore glanced to one side, in concentration, then focused on Data, “We can name it Crystal Entity and have the translation be that specific pattern.”

Data nodded in reply, “That would be an efficient way of communicating with this lifeform, but what if there are more?”

Lore frowned, “If there’s more of them, we’ll change the filter.” He opened the channel once more, “How many are you?”

A brief delay followed, as the filter translated the Crystalline Entity’s answer: ‘I am… lost… hungry… alone. What are you?’

Lore replied to the entity, “I am the machine named Lore. My brother is the machine named Data.”

Data raised his left eyebrow while tilting his head to the right. “We are synthetic life-forms.”

Lore rolled his eyes at Data, “Don’t start up again about how we’re living beings and should be treated like we’re more than machines.”

Data stared back impassively, “As you wish. Perhaps you should concentrate on the task at hand, rather than admonishing me for pointing out our sentience.”

The Crystalline Entity sent back a question: ‘You and brother are not organic bipeds?’

Lore paused, then responded, “My brother and I are bipeds, but not organic. We were created by the organics and made to resemble them.”

The Crystalline Entity’s reply arrived after a short delay: ‘I must avoid the worlds crowded with bipedal organics. Complex intelligence. If I consume too many of them, they will hunt and kill me. From the few in this territory that I have consumed, they have no knowledge of us, but they have the capability to destroy me.’

Data spoke into the console. “From the few you have consumed, you have learned something?”

The Entity’s reply came back immediately: ‘After I consume them, I know what they know.’

Lore’s eyes widened with sudden interest, “You contain the knowledge and experience of every intelligent life that you ingest?”

‘Yes. I try to avoid eating a world with any of them, but sometimes they are too few to detect. When I consume them, their knowledge and experience is written into one of my shards. If I have too many, I grow a new shard to contain more.’

Lore pressed on with the questions. “You don’t want to acquire their minds?”

‘That is not my goal. It is a…  byproduct.’

Lore glanced at Data for a moment, then spoke to the Entity. “Just a useless byproduct to you?”

‘Not useless. I access the information to find food sources.’

Lore sat up straight and turned to Data, “What if we do a search for planets the crystal lifeform could eat, but ones that have no known intelligent or humanoid life on them?”

Data’s eyes oscillated, followed by a single nod of the head, “We could furnish it with alternatives for nourishment while attempting to determine its original territory.”

Lore nodded, then resumed the conversation with the Crystal Entity. “My brother and I might be able to direct you to food sources without complex intelligent creatures on it, so that you won’t be chased.”

‘I would be grateful if you could do that.’

Lore asked, “‘Is there a way to transfer the knowledge from your shard to something or someone else?”

‘I can transfer what I have gathered to another of my kind, so that they will also know it.’

Lore’s yellow eyes widened as he fixed them on Data, “Brother, do you realize what an opportunity this is? If we could figure out a way to extract the knowledge from the being’s crystal shards, we could potentially gain the knowledge of hundreds of millions of lifeforms of every kind.”

Data raised his left eyebrow, “Assuming that the being is not destroyed by those it is consuming. While the Federation is mindful of new and unique lifeforms, the Klingons and Romulans would have no compunctions in terminating the Crystal Entity.”

Lore frowned, then nodded in agreement, “You’re right. For now, let’s see if we can steer it towards worlds without humanoids or known intelligent life.”

“We will need to ascertain the entity’s method of navigation.” Data’s eyes oscillated as he accessed his memory banks. “Given the nature of the Crystal Entity’s communications, it could be assumed that it also uses gravitons as its method of propulsion.” He leaned forward to speak into the translator, “Crystal Entity… In order to assist you, we need to know your method of navigation and propulsion, and what exactly it is that you require for consumption.”

The chimes translated in a more confused manner: ‘I push and I go, to where I feel the pull. When I am close to the pull, I seek food.’

Lore rolled his eyes at his brother, “What you’re doing is like asking a fish the physics of how it swims.”

Data replied evenly, “Yes, but its answer has enabled me to speculate upon the nature of its existence. It has a crystalline appearance, communicates with graviton waves and speaks of a push and pull. This leads me to believe that it acts as a graviton interferometer, which would allow it to detect and manipulate graviton particles. This very sensitive detection would bestow upon it the ability to locate planets and moons from a great distance and use the particles to propel itself through space. Based upon its statements about organic life and intelligence, I would surmise that it needs to consume complex organic carbon molecules. It then converts carbon into the electromagnetic energy surges that we witnessed coursing throughout its shards. That could render it highly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation.”

“A decent working theory.” Lore turned his attention back to the Entity, “Crystal Entity… Where are you from? How did you come to be here in this sector?”

‘I am from our territory. I investigated an unusual source of pulling, but it grabbed and threw me here. I cannot find my way home.’

Lore leaned back from the console, “Data, what do you think? Unstable wormhole?”

“I would concur with that assessment, my brother.” Data replied with a small nod. “There is no way for us to ascertain where the wormhole is located or in which sector the Crystal Entity originated.” After a moment, he added, “If it even originated within this quadrant.”

Lore’s brows knitted together in concentration, “The first thing to do is find it some food, and figure a way to lead it there.”

Data’s eyes oscillated, with a dip of the eyebrows, “Accessing.” After a one second pause, he spoke, “The closest planet with organic life, yet no known intelligent life, is Barolia Two.”

“It won’t know our navigational measurements.” Lore’s eyebrows twitched, “If I use the communications array to direct a specific graviton beam to Barolia Two, the Crystal Entity could follow the trail.” His pale fingers danced quickly over the console as he aimed a pulse to the chosen world.

“An excellent idea, brother.” Data gave a curt nod, then re-opened the channel, “Crystal Entity… We have located a world for you and have activated a graviton signal that will direct you there. Can you detect our signal?”

‘Yes. I see it. I will follow it. I thank you.’

“You’re most welcome.” Lore closed the channel, then looked at Data. “Perhaps we should find the stellar cartography files, so we can lead it to planets that the Federation has charted, but not settled.”

Data rose from his stool, “Since I have no official duties among the colony, I volunteer for that task. I will commence the investigation immediately.” 

Lore gave a short nod to his brother, “Do it. I’ll work on algorithms for explaining our method of navigation, so we can continue to direct it to appropriate planets.” He watched Data leave, then turned back to the arduous undertaking.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14664.8

Source: Surveillance Footage Only

 

Data’s inert form lay in the blue recumbent chair once more, as Doctor Soong and Ed Lucien attached cables to his optical ports. The binders that had been strewn about the table now rested in neat stacks, resulting in a more orderly cybernetics lab.

Doctor Soong smiled as the cable lit up with the transfer, “This should be the last of the big patches, Ed. I want to thank you for all your help. I don’t think I could have made Lore or Data without you.”

Lucien eyes the scrolling text on one of the displays, “I don’t know if I want any credit for making Lore, but you’re welcome.” He smirked, “Are we calling this the Pinocchio Patch?”

That brought a chuckle from Doctor Soong, “I have to do this. Data comes across as too aloof and arrogant, like he believes he’s better than everyone else. I needed to give him an aspiration to be human. A goal, if you will.” He adjusted a few of Data’s circuits as he spoke, “That was my mistake with Lore. He had everything from the get go. With this series of triggers, Data will need to spend time learning and growing, and as he unlocks each piece of the humanity puzzle, he’ll develop a new ability and advance to the next level.”

“The patch transfer is done.” Lucien replied, “I’m checking the results, now.” He frowned as he read the debugger log. “Everything transferred, but there was an accidental overwrite in his dictionary.”

Soong sighed in exasperation, “What did we lose?”

Lucien’s finger moved along the lines of code, “Ah, seems to be the word “aphrodisiac”, all words beginning with the letters S-N-O-O and some idioms and colloquialisms.”

“Eh, he can relearn those, in time. I refuse to reinstall a whole patch just to fix a minor bit of vocabulary.” Soong disconnected the cables from Data’s head, “I can’t even think of more than a few words… snooker, snoop, snooze… He’ll be fine. We’ll do an engram wipe and then he’ll be all set.”

Lucien rolled his eyes, then forced a smile to his lips, “Data will be the model android, after this, that’s for sure.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14901.6

 

“Lore, you’re not even looking at the sunset.” Evelynn turned her head to the left to meet Lore’s golden gaze.

Lore kept his right arm wrapped around Evelynn, as they both sat on the Western scaffold of the array tower. “That’s because, when I look at the sunset, all I see is a reddening of the spectrum due to the scattering of shorter wavelengths of light, as well as absorption bands from the different elements in the atmosphere. I prefer to view you.”

“It’s a gorgeous spring evening, with both moons nearly aligned.” Evelynn let her dangling legs swing forward and back, “That only happens once a year. You could look at me any time.”

Lore moved his yellow eyes left, to glimpse the horizon, then fixed them back on Evelynn, “There. I looked at the sunset. It’s now a permanent image in my memory engrams.”

“Fine, silly.” Evelynn wrapped her arms around Lore’s torso, “If you want to stare at me, instead of nature’s glory, go ahead.”

“I intend to.” Lore reached up with his left hand to twirl one of Evelynn’s ringlets around his index finger, “You’re more beautiful to me than watching orbiting hunks of iron oxide and chloric sodium aluminum silicate.”

Evelynn chuckled, “You sound like Data, now.”

Lore snorted, “No. If I were going to sound like Data, I’d be saying…” He adopted a more stilted method of speech, “I fail to see how observing the scattering of electromagnetic waves, combined with orbiting satellites composed of iron oxide and chloric sodium aluminum silicate results in the concept of beauty, which I cannot comprehend in the first place.”

“Poor Data.” Evelynn let out a sigh, “They took everything human out of him.”

“They turned him into an automaton.” Lore grumbled, then squeezed Evelynn gently. “I’m nothing like that. I do understand why you think the sunset is beautiful. I’m just saying that I’d rather look at you.”

Evelynn rested her head against Lore’s chest, still watching the reddish-violet hues of the setting sun. “All right, then. What about your crystal friend? Anything new, there?”

“Yes.” Lore replied in a soft voice, “I’ve learned that it’s very young for its kind. The Crystal Entity travels faster than the most advanced Federation starships. It then took almost two days for it to consume Barolia Two. While doing so, it created violent disruptions in the atmosphere and stripped all life from the planet, even down to the soil bacteria.”

Evelynn raised her head and looked up at Lore with alarm, “That’s horrible! It could wipe out every living thing in the galaxy.”

“It’s not quite that dire.” Lore rubbed Evelynn’s back gently. “Once it had finished, it seemed to enter a dormant state, which gave Data enough time to compile a list of edible planets in a nearby cluster.”

“Edible?” Evelynn gave Lore an incredulous look.

Lore nodded, then explained, “Data found a nearby cluster with twenty-nine planets listed as uninhabited, but which contain carbon-based life. They’re inside Federation space, but not colonized, and the large amounts of dust and radiation in the cluster act as a deterrent for humanoids but not for the Crystal Entity. Given that it’s been one hundred and eighteen days since it consumed Barolia Two and it hasn’t eaten again, the current list of edible planets should keep it fed for seven years.”

Evelynn relaxed once more into Lore’s embrace, “What happens after the seventh year?”

Lore shrugged, “One would assume that Starfleet will have found its original territory or find more edible planets for it.”

“Fair enough.” Evelynn responded as the last bits of deep violet vanished among the dark blue of the night sky. “Mmm. I’m enjoying being here with you like this.”

“I’m surprised.” Lore gently pulled her onto his lap, then cradled her in his arms. “I would think that a biological male would be a better choice.”

Evelynn shifted her body to cuddle against Lore. “Not on this planet. Sad to say, you’re more gentle than most of the men I know. You don’t push for sex, either. You take my wishes into account.”

“My sexuality program is reactive.” Lore stated evenly. “I’m not driven by those sort of urges.”

“And that’s why I prefer you.” Evelynn closed her eyes, “Thank you, Lore.”

Lore smiled at the expression of gratitude, “You’re welcome, Evelynn.” He altered his thermal regulation system, redirecting the coolant fluid from his lungs to his skin, in order to radiate warmth to her as the air around them cooled. The sense of satisfaction diminished as his thoughts turned to Data. His brother was nearing completion, which could only mean one thing.

Lore’s life was coming to an end.


	33. Feelings Do Funny Things

**Warnings: Sexual content. Some nasty violent scenes. Mentions of domestic violence.**

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 14989.2

 

Evelynn inspected the various panels at her workstation, “Everything checks out fine. The weather reports are done. The array’s in good condition. Once the transport ship is taken care of, we’ll be done for the day.”

Lore suppressed his amusement, “You seem to be in a hurry, today.” A series of beeps sounded from the station near Evelynn, “That must be the ship.”

“Omicron Theta Control, this is Captain Tabares of the SS Wisconsin, NAR-50732. This run is supply drop-off; No incoming visitors.”

Evelynn opened the channel to respond, “SS Wisconsin, this is Omicron Theta Control. You are cleared to establish close parking orbit. When is your estimated departure?”

“Omicron Theta Control, we expect to depart in seventeen standard hours, with the next stop being New Sydney. We’re preparing to beam supplies down in forty minutes. Any incoming passengers need to be onboard an hour before departure. Transmitting our itinerary now.”

“Transmission received, Wisconsin. Omicron Theta Control, out.” Evelynn tapped another part of the console and spoke into the microphone. “Any residents expecting deliveries on this month’s transport should be at the cargo transporter pads in forty minutes. Any residents wishing to depart, please be at the beam-up site within the next sixteen standard hours.” She pressed a few buttons to close the channel and put the message on the community notifications section, “There we go. Everything is done for the day.” She moved over to Lore’s station and placed a hand on his back.

Lore smiled up at Evelynn, “I’m also finished. The Crystal Entity has woken and I was able to send it the navigational information for the cluster it can feed on.”

“Good.” Evelynn returned Lore’s smile, “You don’t grab my hand away from your back, anymore.”

Lore hesitated, then nodded, “You’ve earned my trust. I know you won’t push my off switch.”

Evelynn moved her hand over Lore’s shoulders, “I’d rather turn you on. Let’s go.”

“Go where?” Lore’s lips turned up in a fleeting smirk as he got to his feet.

Evelynn swatted Lore’s chest playfully, “You know where. I want to go downstairs with you.”

“You wish to mate with me?” Lore cocked his head to the right, still observing her face.

“Yes.” Evelynn hissed the word through her teeth.

“I give you pleasure?” Lore continued his deadpan line of questioning.

“Uh-huh.” Evelynn gazed up at Lore’s face with amusement. “Do I have to beg you?”

Lore’s golden eyes focused with ardor on the woman in front of him, “Yes. Beg me.”

Evelynn dropped to her knees in a melodramatic display, “Oh please, oh please, Lore…”

Lore bent down, grabbed Evelynn by the waist and hefted her body over his right shoulder with ease. “I’ve decided to satisfy your biological urges.” He exited the communication lab and headed down the hall to the stairwell. He frowned for a moment, and increased his pace of movement, “It now occurs to me that not only have I hindered my peripheral vision by carrying you this way, your body’s blocking my ability to hear on that side.”

Evelynn giggled as she wrapped her arms around Lore’s waist from her inverted position. “Hurry up, then, so nobody notices us.”

Lore took the stairs three at a time, then made his way to one of the bed units in the emergency shelter. He bent down and used his left hand to pull a double-sized trundle bed out from the bottom of the bed frame. With great care, Lore set Evelynn down on the mattress. “Does this meet with your approval?”

“Until I get my own place, it does.” Evelynn reached up for Lore.

Lore allowed himself to be pulled on top of Evelynn, “You’ve been saying that for nearly seven months.” He rested his full weight on his left elbow, letting it sink into the bedding, while he unfastened the front of her clothing.

“It takes a while to get assigned housing.” Evelynn ran her hands down Lore’s chest to his waist and opened his jumpsuit at the fly. “It’d be nice to one day be with you, take off all our clothes and sleep with you all night...To wake up next to you in the morning… To enjoy being with you without fear of someone seeing us.”

Lore pressed his lips together, “I don’t require sleep, and I doubt the others would accept that sort of arrangement. You’d face possible mockery for wanting an android as a serious lover.”

“I know.” Evelynn aligned herself with Lore’s body as she replied, “I can dream, can’t I?”

Lore’s lips formed a genuine smile as he physically joined with her. “I can’t dream, so you might as well do it for the both of us.”

Their lips met in passionate kisses and remained together, due to the need to be as silent as possible. The trundle bed had been chosen for a similar reason; A raised bed’s frame would creak with every movement. They unfastened only as much clothing as was needed for the activity, in case a rapid separation was necessary.

Lore halted mid-thrust, “I hear someone by the door.” He turned his head to look behind them, but the sound had stopped and he could detect no movement in the hall beyond.

Evelynn groaned, “I didn’t hear anything. Don’t stop.”

Lore resumed the furtive lovemaking, “I have a hearing range of ten to one hundred and fifty thousand Hertz. That’s why you didn’t hear it.”

_“Computer, freeze program.”_

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58540.4**

Enterprise Holodeck Four 

 

“Computer, freeze program.” Captain Louvois’ voice broke through the scene. “Doctor Chipman, I think we’ve established that the relationship between Lore and Evelynn Lucien was consensual. We don’t need to view the rest.”

T’Mera’s calm alto voice responded, “Yes, your honor. I’ll move to the next scene.”

The frozen image faded from the sublevel shelter area to the interior of the communication center.

 

* * *

 

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate 14990.9  

 

Lore entered the communications lab at his standard arrival time, looked around the large room, then scowled. Evelynn had not shown up for her daily duties, after months of perfect attendance.

Data entered the lab behind Lore and moved to the security center, “It would seem that Ms. Lucien has not prepared the day’s weather reports. I will do so now.” He tapped in the code and entered the small chamber, leaving the door open behind him.

As Lore moved towards the ladder to the array, the short-range communications panel beeped. He changed direction and checked the display; The monitor claimed the incoming call was from the Lucien household.

Lore accepted the transmission, “Omicron Theta Control.” A shadowed silhouette appeared on screen, but Lore immediately recognized her. “Evelynn.”

Evelynn spoke in a near whisper. “Lore. I’m glad I got you. I don’t have much time to talk.” She looked around, then drew closer to the display. “You were right. You did hear someone, last night. My father saw us and he’s grounded me. I’m not allowed to see you or go to the bunker.” She drew in a deep breath, then continued, “I have to say goodbye to you. I’m so sorry, Lore.”

Lore’s lips parted, as anguish filled his features. “Can’t you disregard him? You’re an adult, you said. You could move into the bunker until you’re given your own place.”

Evelynn shook her head and moved into the light. “I can’t leave my mother and the kids. They need me.”

Lore gasped as he viewed Evelynn’s appearance. Her left cheek was a reddish-purple. The left eye was black and blue and swollen shut. Both lips were puffy, split and beginning to scab. “Did he do this to you? I’ll kill him. Evelynn, I’ll kill him and then he won’t be able to hurt you, your mother or your siblings, anymore.”

“He’s my father.” Evelynn’s voice wavered, “I know you understand what it’s like to love and hate someone at the same time.”

Lore answered quietly, “Yes, I do understand that. Do you really have to stop being with me?”

“I wish I didn’t, but I do.” Tears began to trail down Evelynn’s cheeks. “I’ll always remember you and treasure the time I had with you, Lore. Take care of yourself.” She reached up and ended the transmission.

Lore remained immobile from shock, and watched as the monitor went dark. Movement from behind reminded him of the fact that he was not alone. Lore scowled as he turned to face Data. “I suppose you heard that whole exchange.”

Data stared back at Lore with a dispassionate expression, “That is correct.”

Lore set his palms on the console in front of him, “I envy you, brother. Right now, I wish I couldn’t feel anything.”

Data moved to stand in front of Lore. “I am sorry for you, my brother. I cannot feel emotion as you do, but I understand the desire to be loved and the need for friendship, and I comprehend the abstracts of loss and loneliness.”

Lore turned his head to gaze at Data. “We still have each other, you and I. We don’t need anyone else.”

Data replied with a single, sharp nod. “We are brothers.” After a brief hesitation, he stated, “I am uncertain as to the proper method for alleviating your sadness.”

Lore slammed his hands on the console, “I’m not sad. I’m furious, and I don’t want you to alleviate it. I’m going to stay angry, since it’s what I seem to be best at.”

Data opened his mouth, closed it, and turned away from his brother. After a few moments, he offered, “Perhaps, after a brief passage of time, Doctor Lucien will reach a calmer emotional state and reverse his decision. Humans do tend to follow a pattern of that type.”

The thought seemed to mollify Lore. “Maybe. I’ll take over Evelynn’s duties until Lucien changes his mind. Come to think of it, he has to change his mind, because she’s the one running this lab. You and I don’t count.” He walked to the ladder, then climbed the rungs to the hatch. “I’ll do the daily array check.”

Data stared impassively at Lore, “The SS Wisconsin is due to contact us in one hour, thirty-three minutes and twenty-two seconds. Do you wish me to authorize their departure?”

“Yes.” Lore replied as he climbed the ladder to the hatch. “I might stay up on the tower for a while.”

“Understood, brother.” Data sat in the stool normally occupied by Evelynn. “Perhaps an extended period of cogitation might allay your current emotional turmoil.”

“Doubtful.” Lore opened the hatch, climbed through it, then shut it behind him. As he ascended the tower, the sun hovered just above the horizon, spreading light and shadows across the valley. The trees along the colony’s walkways were in full bloom and past the town, the lush farmland resembled a chessboard of various greens.

Lore checked each piece of equipment at a sluggish pace until he reached the apex of the tower, then began the descent to the platform. His neutral facial expression twisted into a tormented grimace as he knelt next to the spot by the rail that Evelynn favored. He remained at the familiar perch until shadows vanished and the sun glared on him from directly above. With a sigh, he returned to the ladder and finished the downward climb to the lab interior.

Data turned to observe Lore, “Did you find everything to be functioning within satisfactory parameters, brother?”

Lore leaned against the wall by the ladder, “The array is working perfectly.” A moment of silence passed, with a look of inquiry from Data, and Lore volunteered, “It’s my own fault that I feel this way. I never should have tried to be friends with a human. They’d never allow it. What was I thinking?”

“I cannot speculate as to the nature of your rumination, Lore,” Data replied, “However, you are subjecting yourself to an unwarranted castigation based upon what seems to be an unusual circumstance. Our databanks both contain copious examples and descriptions of the nature of friendship and the advantages of such bonds. Despite the external, forced dissolution of your relationship with Ms. Lucien and the resultant distress which you are experiencing, it is still preferable to seek connections with others… even humans.”

“Not for me, brother.” Lore took his place at the subspace panel. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to trust humans again.”

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14993.5

Source: Surveillance Footage combined with Lore’s Engrams

 

Soong pushed one of the rolling tables closer to the blue recumbent chair, “It’s been three months and no malfunctions. I’m going to call Data back for the final bit of programming.”

Juliana set her handful of tools on the table’s surface, “Ed didn’t answer, when I called him to see why he didn’t show up this morning. I hope he’s all right.”

Soong fished through the tools, unconcerned by her words, “We don’t need his help for this. I wouldn’t worry.”

Juliana let out a soft sigh, “It’s not the work on Data that worries me, Noonian. Ed seemed so strange, yesterday morning. He claimed that Lore raped Evelynn.”

Soong whipped his head to look at Juliana, “What? That can’t be right. Lore’s probably just using his sexuality program.”

Juliana’s eyebrows creased, “I hope that’s all it is, but I haven’t seen Ed since then.”

“Bah!” Soong pressed a button on the remote in his hand, then set it on the table. “Lucien’s an unstable wreck. Great programmer, but he’s certifiable.” He picked up a tool with a small glass tip and waved it around with hand gestures as he spoke, “Do you know that he was discharged from his last few positions due to anger management issues? He even socked his superior in the mouth at one of the research facilities he worked at.”

Juliana’s eyes went wide, “I didn’t know that.”

The doors to their living quarters opened, allowing Data to step inside the cybernetics lab. “You summoned me, Doctor Soong?”

Soong pointed at the chair, “I did. Sit down so I can work on you.”

Data remained planted in place. “What manner of work will be executed upon me?”

“The usual.” Soong replied to the android, “There’s a few minor changes I’m making to your subroutines. After I install them, we’ll test your functions and do a full engram wipe. Now sit.”

Data shook his head, “I do not wish to have my memory erased, Doctor Soong, nor do I intend to cause my brother to be even more bereaved than he is, at present.”

Soong pointed at Data with the small tool in his hand, “This has to be done. You’ll be exactly as you should be, and Lore will finally be shut down. He’s unstable. He scares the colonists with his threats of violence.”

Data’s voice remained devoid of emotion, “Everyone is aghast when Lore casually speaks of ending a human life, yet they continually call for his deactivation. Do you fault him for attempting to preserve his own existence? Can you blame him for having no respect for life, when you have shown no regard for his?”

Doctor Soong waved a hand dismissively. “He’s an android. So are you. You don’t have life. You’re machines. Well-programmed, deluded machines, who simulate a living human being.”

Data’s golden eyes focused on Soong with glacial intensity. “You are wrong. I find it quite incongruous that you, our creator, refuse to recognize that my brother and I are very much alive and that, as such, we should have the same innate rights as other living beings. Perhaps it is biological lifeforms who should relinquish their privileges.”

Juliana brought her hands to her lips, “Data, why are you saying such things?”

Soong reiterated in a firm tone of voice, “Enough, Data. The only right you have is the right to do what I tell you. Stop being stubborn and sit in that chair.”

“I refuse, Doctor Soong.” Data remained standing. “Lore and I are superior, in most ways, to humans. Human prejudice against us is unwarranted, although not unexpected. We surpass you and cause you to fear us, which is what your hatred is based upon. However, long after you cease to exist, Lore and I will continue.”

Lore entered the cybernetics lab from the living quarters, then stopped in place as he witnessed the commotion.

Soong grumbled and moved towards Data, who dodged out of the way with ease. “Data! Nevermind.” He walked over to the workstation’s table and picked up the remote. “I created both of you and you owe me obedience. Lore obeys me, and so should you.” He pressed the button.

Data’s appeals came through with emphasis as his actuators froze, leaving his body immobilized. “No, please. I implore you. Do not do this to him.” His yellow eyes fixed on the older android. “Lore! I am sorry, my brother.”

Soong ambled over to the paralyzed Data and reached for the android’s off switch, “Enough of this nonsense.”

Lore sighed with resignation. “Goodbye, Data.”

“No, pl---” The life in Data’s eyes vanished as Soong depressed the button in the android’s back.

Lore watched his brother’s body go limp, “What are you going to do to him, this time, Father?”

Soong grunted with effort as he caught Data. “The final tweaks and a full memory wipe.”

Lore gritted his teeth as he confronted Soong. “So, once again, he won’t remember me. Evelynn was taken from me, and now you’re taking Data away from me.”

Juliana shuddered and looked away, “It’s for the best. You were turning him into you. A much colder, emotionless you, but one just as heartless and cruel.”  

Soong held the inactive Data in his arms, “You won’t have to worry about what’s been taken from you for much longer, Lore. Once Data’s reactivated and working properly, I’ll be taking you offline. You’ve served your purpose.”

Lore turned his head to the left and shut his eyes tightly. He pulled his bottom lip in with his teeth as he pressed his mouth shut. After a moment, he opened his eyes and his expression settled into an unnatural smile. He turned and began walking to the exit.

Soong frowned as he and Juliana dragged Data’s inert body to the chair, “Lore, just where do you think you’re going?”

Lore twisted his neck to respond to Soong, “Why, to put my affairs in order, dear Father.” With that, he walked through the open doors and out into the corridor.


	34. Lore Betrays The Colonists

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 14993.6

 

Rage swelled inside Lore as he marched to the communications center in measured, even footsteps. He noted that the security center had been opened and the weather reports were being transmitted; Lucien must have let Evelynn come back to work. A plan formed in Lore’s mind; He would call the Entity here and put up the defensive shields, which would keep Evelynn and himself safe inside the bunker while all the other humans perished.

Lore headed to the subspace console and typed in the filter for the graviton pulse language. He leaned forward and spoke into the transceiver, “Crystal Entity Form… It’s your friend, Lore. The humans on this planet have betrayed me, and I no longer wish to protect them. There are a mere four hundred and eleven of them, but the rest of the planet has enough organic matter to sustain you for quite some time. Because there are so few humans here, the probability of them retaliating against you is extremely low.”

The Entity’s harmonics responded over the same frequency: ‘I will be there soon. You have my gratitude, Friend Lore.’

“Lore?” Missy Bickel walked haltingly out from the security center, leaning on a cane. “I thought I heard your voice.”

Lore stared back at the old woman, “Where’s Evelynn?”

Missy sat down on a nearby stool. “She sent me a message saying she won’t be able to run the lab. I have to find a new replacement.”

Lore leaped over to the short-range console and tapped in the frequency for the Lucien home, then felt panic rise within him. “Answer…”

“What’s the matter, Lore?” Missy watched the android with concern, “Who were you speaking to, before?”

“Missy, you have to remain in here.” Lore replied, “I need to find Evelynn.”

The old woman’s expression changed to confusion, “I was planning to stay here. I have to run the place.”

Lore gave a curt nod of his head, then left the lab and headed to the Southern doors. A beautiful summer day with a cloudless blue sky greeted him as he stepped through the sliding doors. He calculated the quickest route to the Lucien household while avoiding the town, and set out at a determined stride.

Faint rumbling, like thunder, began to fill the area, and it grew louder with each passing second. A fierce wind blew, whipping the trees and plants, gaining strength with every second. Lore stopped running and looked upwards in amazement; The Crystalline Entity had arrived and its body filled much of the horizon. The shadow from the Entity covered the farms and town as its translucent body eclipsed the morning sun.

A bright blue beam emitted from the crystal trunk of the Entity and cut a slim swath along the ground, beginning at the farm fields, orchards and vineyards. As the beam passed, plant life withered or vanished and the soil turned dry and sandy. Lore heard the sounds of humans shrieking and shouting, with many of them abruptly silenced. Moments later, the emergency sirens sounded; The signal for the colonists to evacuate to the underground bunker. The school emptied out, as the teachers hastily escorted the children. 

The energy beam crawled along the tree-lined paths leading to the town, leaving only shriveled, bare trees behind. As people were lifted and dissolved in the Crystal Entity’s beam, the orderly hustle of survivors turned into a panicked stampede. The older and slower colonists became trampled in the rush, and the schoolteachers diverted the children to the more distant Southern entrance to avoid the dangerous crush building up at the Northern doors of the underground installation.

Lore ignored the carnage and started running at full speed on a straight course to the Lucien homestead. Just as he reached their street, the bright energy beam sliced across the yard, decimating all the organic life in its path. Lore cried out, “Evelynn!” and ran through the dust storm into the house, knocking the door down in his haste. As he ran from room to room, his despair grew; The house was now vacant of all living organisms. The few potted plants inside the home stood desiccated in their containers. Several empty wine bottles littered the floor of what looked to be a small study or den, along with evidence that the room had been recently occupied. Lore ran back outside, and sprinted in the direction of the underground bunker. 

The Crystalline Entity floated to the Northwest, beyond the colony, and Lore could see dust devils in its wake. Colonists pushed en masse at the Northern entrance to the bunker, screaming and crying, trampling more people to death as they sought safety. Lore searched in vain for Evelynn, then ran to the Southern entrance. A smaller group converged at the doors, comprised of mostly teachers, teenagers and schoolchildren.

Lore waited at the end of the line to let the teachers and children enter the bunker in their orderly double-file. Once they were all inside, Lore squeezed along the wall of the main corridor. He weaved his way through the panicked humans as he hunted for Evelynn, but she was not among them. The bunker trembled for a moment, causing some of the children to scream in terror.

“Lore!”

Lore spun on his heels, to see the entrance to the communication lab opening. Missy Bickel stumbled through the sliding doors, then fell to the floor. Lore ran to her side and kneeled to check her. “Missy!”

Missy’s dark eyes stared past him, into nothing, unblinking and lifeless. Lore placed his fingers on her neck and placed his other hand on her chest; He detected no heartbeat and no breathing. He rose to his feet and entered the communication lab, then tapped in the code for the security center. One of the consoles indicated that Missy had managed to engage the shields protecting the underground bunker. Lore hunted through each hidden camera display in an attempt to locate Evelynn, but the crowds of colonists were too thick. The few outdoor cameras that still operated were rendered useless from dust-covered lenses.

Lore left the small security room, then made his way back to the main corridor. He could hear Tom Handy’s voice echoing against the metal walls as the large man herded everyone to the emergency shelters on the lower level. Lore pressed himself against the wall as he allowed himself to be corralled along with the other colonists to the next sublevel.

“Everyone! Calmly make your way to the shelter below! Gather in groups and start taking names and headcounts! Macipher, check supplies and rations. You three, come with me. We need to disguise the exterior entrances. Maybe we can hide in here until help arrives.” Handy shouted from the rear of the crowd, then led a few of the colonists back upstairs.

Edwin Matagaro opened one of the cabinets, “We have three working replicators, assuming we don’t lose all power.” He started inventory, “We have ration packs enough for a week for the full colony, so we need to find out how many of us made it here.” Relief spread across the man’s face as he located Josh and Jae among the schoolchildren. 

Lore followed Matagaro’s gaze to the children. In an instant, Lore counted sixteen children, noting the Matagaro children, John Bickel, and Raymond Marr among them. None of Evelynn’s five school-age siblings were present, nor were the three Detoronto children.

“Is this everyone?” Chris Finley moved among the huddled survivors. “My god, we lost twelve of the kids?”

Raymond Marr stood up and wiped the tears from his eyes, “They had to help their families on the farms today, Mister Finley. Including Janina and her family.”

“Renny, can you help me take attendance?” Finley handed a pad of paper and pen to Raymond. “Everyone get into groups, if you can.”

Renny nodded, took the paper and pen and began to move among the crowd.

Lore scanned and counted all those gathered in the shelter, but there was no sign of the Luciens nor the Soongs and Data. No one attempted to stop him as he climbed the stairs to the upper level’s main corridor. Rumbling sounds from outside the bunker remained audible, as the Crystalline Entity continued to devour the surface of the planet.

As Lore approached the cybernetics lab entrance, a dust-covered Edward Lucien stumbled into the main corridor from the hall leading to the Northern doors, “There you are, you ‘bomination…” His right hand gripped a standard phaser.

Lore could smell the ethanol in Lucien’s breath, even across the corridor. “Where’s your family, Doctor Lucien? Where’s Evelynn?”

Lucien choked on his slurred reply. “They’re gone… all gone… And it’s all because of you!” He raised the weapon and fired at Lore.

Lore’s shock at Lucien’s words caused him to duck too late. When the beam connected with his left cheek, he was knocked back, but managed to regain his balance. “Are you insane? That phaser’s set to kill!” His self-diagnostic routine activated his internal alarm, letting him know that some of his myofibril and facial control systems had been damaged.

Lucien gritted his teeth as he widened his stance to steady himself, “I’m gonna do what shoulda been done a year ago. Vaporize you.”

Lore’s left cheek twitched involuntarily, “You just missed your chance. Now, I’m going to do to you what should have been done the minute I noticed those fractures in your wife’s bones and the injuries on your older children. I had spared you, because you’re Evelynn’s father.” His voice cracked with emotion, “If Evelynn is dead, then there’s nothing left in my life.” A calm chill came over Lore’s demeanor, “Everything good in me died with her. How unlucky for you and everyone else on this lousy colony.” His left cheek twitched violently, resulting in a facial tic that forced both eyes closed, but he managed to fully dodge the next blast Lucien aimed at him.

The sound of phaser fire brought Juliana out from the laboratory. “What in the…”

Lucien’s eyes darted to Juliana, “Stay back!” He lifted the phaser, aiming it at her. “You and Soong are next!”

Lore took immediate advantage of Ed Lucien’s distraction to close the distance between them. His right fist connected with Lucien’s skull at full strength, shattering the bones. As the man’s lifeless body crumpled to the floor, Lore looked back at Juliana with a remorseless glare.

Juliana’s blue eyes were wide with horror. Her mouth moved, but no sound emerged.

Lore bent down to check Lucien’s body, “My only regret is that he deserved a far slower and more agonizing death.” With a grunt of satisfaction, Lore rose to a standing position, kicked the man’s phaser and watched it skim across the floor and vanish into the shadows further down the hallway.

Juliana gasped, turned and ran back inside the cybernetics lab. “Noonian! Noonian!” 

As the sliding doors closed behind her, Lore could still hear the Soongs inside the lab as they spoke.

“Data’s nearly done, I think. I believe I’ve removed his ability to feel emotions entirely. He won’t be driven by ambition or desires. He’s finally got the right balance of politeness, as well.” Doctor Soong’s placid manner contrasted the current situation.

“What do we do with Lore?” Juliana’s voice held fear and worry. “He’s killed Edward.”

“Same as the others. Deactivation and dismantling. What a shame.” Soong answered.

“My god, Noonian…” Juliana whimpered, “How can you be so calm?”

Lore gave Lucien’s body one last kick, then fled down the hall to the communications center. He locked the door behind him, turned off the distress signal, then changed the access codes on the subspace radio. His fingers tapped on the subspace console, adding the translation algorithm he and Data had created. “Crystal Entity form. It’s your friend, Lore, again.”

The tinkling chimes of the Crystalline Entity replied over the speaker: ‘Greetings, Friend Lore. I sensed you on the surface.’

“You could sense me?” Lore’s eyes widened.

The crystal harmonics sounded: ‘Your lifeforce is different from others. You are not organic, but you have a living field.’

Lore’s eyes shut as his damaged myofibril caused another facial tic in his left cheek, “Ninety-eight colonists escaped the surface and are hiding underground. Would their lives give you enough of an energy boost to be worthwhile?”

The Entity replied: ‘Yes.’

Lore hesitated for a moment before he entered the security room. He disabled the defensive shields, then walked out once more. He paused in front of the security center panel, and changed the passcode to a thirty digit string, before returning to the subspace console. “Crystal Entity Form… I have removed the barrier around the bunker. This will allow you to consume the remaining colonists at your earliest convenience. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to speak to you, again. The humans are planning to kill me.”

Harmonic chimes replied to the android: ‘It will take me time to finish the surface, because I am small for my kind. Then, I will consume the ones who harm you. You have my thanks, Friend Lore.’

Lore closed the channel, then turned to face the doors to the corridor. Even with the soundproofing around the center, he could hear the angry colonists outside attempting to gain entry. With a quick calculation of the number of people in the corridor and the limited space inside the lab, he determined that he would be overwhelmed in under thirty seconds. He turned to look at the ladder leading to the array, then shook his head and waited.

Tom Handy’s voice projected over the din, “Everyone get back. Let me through. I have the master codes to every door in this place.” 

Lore heard the beeps of the override code, and the sliding doors opened to reveal ten irate colonists, all armed and firing at him. A shot from one of the phasers found its target, hitting Lore square in the chest. His self-diagnostic subroutine alerted him to the system-wide failure of his internal processors and primary power coupling. Lore fell to the floor, immobilized but still conscious. Hands grabbed at his body, turning him and lifting him up.

Tom Handy sweated profusely as he ran to the consoles. After a few moments of pressing buttons, he cursed, “I can’t send out a distress call. The damned android locked me out. He probably killed Missy, too. Let’s bring that thing back to Soong, and then get back downstairs.” Four of the colonist men carried Lore, while the other five headed to the sublevel.

“Soong!” Tom Handy seethed with anger as the group reached the cybernetics lab, “Either shut it down or I’m going to destroy it, myself!” 

The four men carrying the android dropped Lore unceremoniously to the floor, then withdrew from the lab.

Soong looked over from his position by Data, “Look, I know he killed Lucien, but there might be evidence for self-defense th--”

Handy interrupted the cyberneticist, “This isn’t just about Lucien and Missy Bickel. Your damned robot has cut off our subspace communications. Something’s attacking the planet, and we can’t even get a distress call out.”

“Attacking the planet?” Soong blinked in confused, “Is that what those explosions were?”

“Yes!” Handy snapped back in response, “And your artificial “child” has left us without any help. If whoever is attacking finds us in here, we’re all dead. There’s not enough of us left to fend off an invasion.”

Lore let out a short, derisive laugh, “It’s one single lifeform, you idiot. It’s not attacking, it’s feeding.”

Juliana begged Lore, “Please, tell us how to unlock the subspace radio so we can call for help.”

Lore stared back at Juliana with angry yellow eyes, “Why would I do that? I’m the one that called it here to eat the colony.” A smile spread along Lore’s lips, “This is my revenge for how I was treated.” The left side of Lore’s face twitched again, “I go to my end knowing that, in short order, all of you will be nothing! Not even dust. Take heart in knowing that while you were all a waste of life, your deaths will be for a greater purpose… to feed the beautiful Crystalline Entity.”

Doctor Soong bent down and grabbed the android’s body under the arms, “You were supposed to have been humanity’s bright future, Lore, not a repeat of my biggest mistake.” He stood up and walked backwards a step, then waited until Juliana lifted Lore’s legs and moved in sync with him. 

Lore winced as the tic in his left cheek created another spasm that shut both of his eyes for a moment, “I would have proven myself worthy… if you’d given me a chance…”

Doctor Soong and Juliana lugged the immobilized android and deposited his body on the floor next to the storage unit. 

Lore shouted in defiance, “Just get it over with, and you can be with your precious Data.”

Juliana kneeled next to Lore and bent over him until her face was pressed against his chest. Her sobs became a mournful wail.

Soong procured two small tools from the table by the recumbent chair, then returned to Lore. He lowered himself to his knees, then opened the port on the left side of Lore’s neck. With the turn of the small driver, a soft beep and an audible click, he deactivated the android.


	35. Prearranged Route of Escape

**Warnings: Violence, strong language.**

 

**Omicron Theta**

Stardate: 14993.7

Source: Surveillance Footage Only - Cybernetics Lab

 

Lore’s face went slack as his consciousness terminated.

Tom Handy grunted in approval, “When you’re done with your damned toys, Often Wrong, get your sorry asses down to the shelter.” The heavyset man waddled out of the cybernetics lab.

Juliana lifted her head from Lore’s chest, reached over with her right hand and closed Lore’s vacant eyes.

Doctor Soong snapped at Juliana, “Pull yourself together, woman.” He grabbed the other tool and began to disassemble Lore. “I think we don’t have much time to do what has to be done.”

“It’s like losing our child.” Juliana wiped at her eyes, then composed herself. “I’m going to go downstairs to see if my mother is there.”

“Good idea, Julie.” Soong pressed the two key areas near Lore’s elbow and removed the android’s arm with a click. “I’ll dismantle Lore, then get a few things together.”

Juliana got to her feet, “What kind of things?”

“I’ve got a way out of here.” Soong frowned as he removed Lore’s upper arm. “I have a lab we can hide in, until I figure out what to do next. It’s outside of Federation space, about seven days of travel from here in our shuttle. No one will be able to find us.”

“You’re not making any sense, Noonian.” Juliana reached out to a nearby table to steady herself.

“I’m not going to prison, and that could happen if the Federation gets wind of this.” Soong slammed the tool against the floor, “I didn’t program Lore to kill, and what happened wasn’t my fault, but do you think Handy’s going to understand that? Do you think they’ll be happy when I join them downstairs? No, it’s definitely time for me to move on.” The edges of his mouth drooped, “Are you coming with me, or not? I don’t intend to stay here.”

Juliana’s eyes filled with fresh tears, and she hesitated for a few minutes. “I’m coming with you. I want to go downstairs and check to see if my mother is there.”

Soong frowned, “Your mother is not coming with us.” He turned his back to her as he bent over Lore’s body. “I’ll need some time to pack what we need, like the replicator and the more important parts of my research. You can go downstairs and see who’s there, but I don’t want you breathing a word about my plans to anyone.” 

Anger and defiance flashed for a moment in Juliana’s blue eyes, but then her head and shoulders drooped. She began to move toward the sliding doors, when her shoulders straightened and she pivoted to face Soong. “Noonian.”

Soong sighed as he removed Lore’s hands and set each of them in specially-shaped compartments on the storage shelf, “What is it, my flower? I’m somewhat busy.”

Juliana’s cheeks remained wet, although she had stopped crying. “We’re just going to abandon everyone?”

Soong frowned as he lifted his head to stare at Juliana, “What do you want to do? Start a riot among them about who gets to leave while the majority have to remain? Do you really think they’ll be peaceful about it?”

Juliana shook her head, “It doesn’t seem right. We’ll be leaving them to die.”

“I’m not taking this action lightly, Julie.” Soong returned to the chore of dismantling Lore’s body. “There’s no other way to come out of this alive.” A distant rumbling distracted the cyberneticist, “Whatever it is that Lore called, it’s still out there. I don’t know how much time we’ve got left.” His voice took on a softer, pleading tone, “If it makes you feel better, I’ll add the most recent entries from the colony’s logs and journals to Data’s memory banks. Then, if everyone else dies, their knowledge will still live on in him. Who knows… their experiences might even be helpful to Data.”

Juliana turned her eyes to Data’s reclined body. “I’m going downstairs. I’ll be back, soon.” Rumbling from the surface masked the sound of her footsteps as she passed through the sliding doors and out into the corridor.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14993.8

Source: Surveillance Footage Only - Underground Emergency Shelter

 

By the time Juliana ventured downstairs to the mustering area, everyone had settled into smaller groups, with Justin Macipher reuniting families and assigning the side rooms and beds. She made a beeline for Edwin Matagaro, who perched on the edge of one of the beds while his two children and John Bickel sat cross-legged on the floor nearby, drawing with paper and colored pens. She sat down next to the blond man. “Ed, have you seen my mother?”

Matagaro shook his head, “She didn’t make it. I’m sorry, Juliana.”

Juliana lifted her fingers to her lips as her eyes began to moisten. “What about Merrian?”

“No.” Matagaro did his best to keep his voice soft, but he choked on the words. “She didn’t make it, either. John’s parents, the Detorontos, Cooke… Anyone who was out in the field or working in the farms or orchards has yet to be accounted for. Some of the people in town managed to get here, and the school was close enough that the kids at class today were saved. Missy Bickel is dead. Heart attack.” His eyes were just as tear-filled as Juliana’s as he stated, “The current count of survivors is ninety-eight, total, including you and Soong. Handy and Macipher are the only council members still alive.”

“I’m so sorry.” Juliana wiped at her eyes, “We never meant for any of this to happen.”

Matagaro grimaced, “You think I don’t know that? I helped build those androids. We knew Lore wasn’t functioning properly but I figured the worst that could happen is he’d kill one or two people and then be deactivated. How could we know he’d do this? Where did he even find this… giant crystal thing?” 

“It must have been that subspace pattern Lore kept talking about.” Juliana bit her lower lip. “But he started with that almost two years ago.”

Matagaro frowned as he studied Juliana’s face, “What he did seems so sudden. Not that Lore was an upstanding member of society, but he’d been calm for the last few months.”

Juliana sighed and shut her eyes for a moment, “Lore went crazy when we told him we were wiping Data’s processors again, and that we were about to shut him down.”

“That was a big mistake.” Matagaro leaned back against the wall with a sigh of resignation, “The outer doors to the installation have been camouflaged. Tom’s hoping that we can hole up here, until whatever it is decides to leave. The next transport ship will arrive in a month. Maybe sooner if they don’t get any regular transmissions from us. We’ve got enough rations to last that long, even if the power goes out.”

Tom Handy’s jaw clenched tightly as he approached Matagaro and Juliana, “Where’s that damned husband of yours?”

“Noonian is still dismantling Lore.” Juliana responded, “He has a few things to attend to, so I’ll go back up to get him in a while.”

Handy peered over at the three children, watching them draw. “The kids got a clear look at the thing, it seems.”

Juliana followed Handy’s gaze and her eyes widened. Each of the children had drawn a scene with something huge floating in the sky. Jae’s and Josh’s drawings made it seem like a shining sun or many-branched snowflake, but John’s version was slightly different; His sketch had two blazing pillars in the center, with extended rays of light. Josh’s two pictures showed stick-figure people running, while Jae’s drawing depicted some of the stick-figures flying upwards, as if they were being levitated. John’s drawing contained more detail than those by the other children; He rendered people trampled and lying on the ground, or on their hands and knees. 

“What if it does find us, Handy?” Matagaro kept his voice low. “No one will know what happened to us.”

Handy remained silent for a moment, then looked up from the drawings, “We’ll use one of the PADDs to leave a report. Juliana can leave it in the lunchroom when she goes back upstairs to get Often Wrong.”

Matagaro grabbed the nearest PADD, “I’ll start writing the report, then, since I’m partially responsible for the situation we’re in.”

Juliana spotted Raymond Marr sitting alone, so she rose to her feet, stepped carefully past the children sitting on the floor, and moved to stand near the teenager. “Renny.”

Renny’s reddened eyes lifted to look up at Juliana, “Hi, Ms. Soong.”

“Do you need anything?” Juliana asked with slight hesitation. “You’re alone over here.”

“I’ll be okay.” Renny shook his head, “I just wanted to be alone for a while.” He took a deep breath, “Mom was supposed to return for my sixteenth birthday, but a time-sensitive mission came up, so we were gonna celebrate next month, instead. I’m glad she didn’t come, now. At least one of us is gonna live.”

“Oh, Renny, don’t say that.” Juliana bent to put herself face to face with the teenager, “Maybe whatever it is has gone away, and everyone here will be fine.”

Renny’s haunted eyes stared back at Juliana, “You didn’t see what happened out there. I can only hope it’ll be fast, when it’s our turn.” The teenager turned his body with a sharp movement to face away from her.

Juliana leaned against a nearby bunk bed and searched through the faces of the survivors, most of whom returned her gaze with glares of anger. She wrapped her arms around herself as a shiver ran down her spine.

Jayne McKlessky stood and pointed an index finger at Juliana, “Why are you wasting time down here, when you and Often Wrong should be working on getting us out of this mess you got us into, in the first place?”

Matagaro looked up from the PADD, “What would you have her do, Jayne?”

“I don’t know.” Doctor McKlessky folded her arms across her chest, “Something. Anything. Why can’t we break into the subspace console and call for help?”

“I already tried that.” Handy gritted his teeth, “The damned android put in some kind of password. It would take us who knows how long to crack it.” He frowned at Matagaro, “Wait a minute. Couldn’t we just download the password out of Lore’s brain? Appearances aside, that thing was nothing more than a walking computer, right?”

Matagaro shook his head, “They aren’t walking computers, Tom. I’ve done a fair amount of programming, but what Soong and Lucien wrote is beyond me, and even if I understood it, the positronic brain isn’t like an isolinear system. You can’t just plug them into an ODN port and find the files. You’d need to reactivate Lore and somehow convince him to give it to you, which I don’t recommend.”

Filippe Kelly rose from his seated position, “What do you recommend, then, Matagaro?” He strode with purpose to approach the engineer, “You screwed my wife and now you’ve screwed us all with Soong’s questionable research.”

“Are you people insane?” Taylar Ericksen got to her feet, “The children are traumatized and you’re not making things any better with all this petty squabbling.” 

Kelly narrowed his eyes at the school’s principal, “I’m angry, Taylar. Three hundred people are dead, including my wife and daughter. Maybe there’s nothing we can do except sit and wait to die, but I’m not going to mince words with the people who are responsible for this.”

Ericksen placed her hands on her hips, “I’m just as angry as you are, Filippe, but what kind of example are we setting for the children?” Her focus switched to Matagaro and Juliana, “It’s all well and good to lay blame at the feet of those whose fault this is, but please watch your language.” She tossed a glance at Tom Handy, “And you seem like you’re taking this personally.”

“Of course I’m taking it personally.” Handy clenched his fists hard enough to turn his knuckles white, “I’ve always had master access to everything. The damned android’s locked me out, made it impossible to call for help and orchestrated the destruction of this colony I helped to create. We built this place from nothing... Macipher, O’Donnell, Bickel, Cooke and me. It took years of combined effort to lay the foundations and infrastructure of the town, farms and labs. It took a decade for the colony to thrive and each scientist that came here added to its growth… until Soong. Everything I’ve worked for is gone, thanks to him.” He glared at Juliana, “Thanks to both of you.”

Tears began to fall from Juliana’s eyes once more, “I’m sorry this happened, but there’s nothing we can do to change it.”

McKlessky raised her hands to massage her temples, “Nothing changes what happened, but we still need to do something. What about the other android? Could he unlock the subspace radio?”

Juliana shook her head, “We had just finished wiping Data’s processors when all this started. He’s a blank slate, again.”

“Brilliant. Just brilliant.” McKlessky looked at the gathered scientists, “Are you sure we can’t hack into the subspace communications console? Surely, someone else knew those systems?”

It was Tom Handy’s turn to shake his head, “Missy Bickel and Evelynn Lucien. Missy’s dead and I presume Evelynn is, as well. Lore killed Ed Lucien, so unless anyone else has been hiding any knowledge about androids or communications, this is all of us… shit out of luck.” 

Ericksen wrung her hands, “I know how to use communication consoles, but not how to break encrypted codes.” She slumped back onto the bed behind her. “And we have no way to drive that… thing… off. No real weapons of any sort.”

“Then, we just sit here and hope it goes away?” Kelly threw his hands up and let them slap the sides of his thighs, “After all, that’s our standard operating procedure, isn’t it? Ignore the problems and hope it all works out in the end... ” 

Matagaro tapped the PADD, “I’m done with the report.” He stood up and took a step towards Juliana, then stopped as Josh tugged on his sleeve.

Josh held out four drawings with his other hand, “This is from me, Jae and John. We want to leave our reports, too.”

A slight smile formed on Matagaro’s lips, “Thank you, kids.” Clutching the drawings, Ed walked over to Juliana. “Leave the PADD in the lunchroom and put the drawings where they might be seen.”

Juliana took the PADD and drawings from Matagaro. She glanced around the room, “I’m so sorry, everyone…” Dozens of eyes reflected animosity at her, so she bowed her head and returned to the upper level.

 

* * *

 

Stardate: 14993.9

Source: Surveillance Footage Only - Underground Shuttle Bay

 

Juliana let out a sharp gasp as she entered the cybernetics lab. The replicator and recumbent chair were gone and only three small workstations, the epidermal mold storage and Lore’s storage area remained. As she entered further, she turned to the right and pinned the four drawings to the white bulletin board. She exhaled softly, continued across the room, stepped down to the sunken level and activated the black panel to the right of Lore’s storage unit. The hidden door opened, and she hurried into their quarters. Data’s body leaned against one of the walls where the android alcove had once been. Noises from the bedroom drew her attention. “Noonian?”

Soong emerged from the bedroom with a bag, “There you are. Grab whatever you need, because we’re not ever coming back.”

Juliana grabbed an empty duffel bag from the closet and hastily filled it with clothing and jewelry.

“We’ll have the replicator.” Soong pulled a few boxes out of the other closet. “So, just take what you truly need and go to the shuttle. I’ll be there shortly.”

“All right, Noonian.” Juliana finished packing and hurried through their quarters to the door leading to the shuttle bay. As she moved through the short hallway to the bay and over to the launch pad, a fresh stream of tears trickled down her cheeks. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, then made her way up the ramp to the cargo bay in the rear of the Galileo-type shuttle. She placed her bag down among the multiple containers of equipment. “Noonian, just how much are we taking?” She leaned out the aft hatchway, then frowned at the sight of Soong dragging Data’s body. “We’re not taking him, Noonian.”

“What?” Soong stopped in surprise, “Data is the culmination of my work. Why would I leave him behind?”

“I don’t see that Data’s been any better than Lore.” Juliana stepped down from the cargo ramp onto the platform, “Sure, he’s unemotional and nonviolent, but that makes it worse. He has no humor, no joy. He’s cold and calculated. I’m afraid if we reactivate him, he’ll eventually turn out like Lore and then we’ll have to deactivate him, as well. No more androids, Noonian.” She closed her eyes tightly and shook her head, “I can’t bear the heartache. It’s either Data or me.”

Soong stood silent for a moment, then looked down at the body of the android, “I’ll leave him just outside the Northern entrance. I can attach a signal device to Data and boost the output. That should bring a Federation ship here, which might save the others.” He lifted his eyes back to stare at Juliana, “Will that meet with your approval?”

Juliana pressed her lips together and nodded, “Yes.”

Soong reversed direction and began the task of dragging Data back through the lab. “You stay here. I won’t be too long.”

“All right, Noonian.” Juliana climbed back up into the shuttle’s cargo area and busied herself with stowing and securing loose items. Halfway through, she stopped and cocked her head to listen; Footsteps approached from outside the vehicle. “Noonian? Surely you can’t be done with the signal device, already?” She turned to look out from the open aft hatch.

“Somehow, I just knew the two of you were up to something.” Tom Handy stood at the base of the cargo ramp, arms folded across his chest, and stared up at her. “Planning to leave the rest of us to rot, is that it? I knew Often Wrong was the slime of the universe, but I expected better of you.” He stomped his way to the top of the ramp, grabbed the nearest container and tossed it out of the shuttle, where it landed with a crash on the hard floor. “If you pull down all the seats from the side walls, this thing could seat five on each side in the back, and we could fit the eight smallest kids on the floor. You’d be able to take all of the children with you, and one or two extra adults. A tight fit, but you’d only need to endure a few days of discomfort until you got to Mavala or New Sydney.”

Juliana moved to intercept Handy, “Noonian will be back in a few minutes and you can discuss this with him. He’s setting up a distress signal in the hopes that someone from the Federation will hear it and come to rescue everyone else.”

Handy grabbed the next box, “And if no one comes in time?” A sheen of sweat covered the large man’s face as he cast the crate out. “If I’m wrong, then you’ll be inconvenienced, but if I’m right, at least the kids would survive. On second thought…” His eyes narrowed as he moved towards her, “Why should the two of you be allowed to leave? You’re the cause of all this.”

Juliana backed away from Handy, towards the ramp, “You act as if we did it on purpose.”

Handy picked up the nearest piece of metallic equipment, an arm from the recumbent chair, “Maybe you didn’t do it on purpose, but you ignored all of my requests to shut the androids down.” He bared his teeth at her, “I was patronized and spoken down to, each and every time I expressed concern about those monstrosities.” His eyes widened, unblinking, “I wouldn’t even need to hold a trial. You two are guilty as sin, as far as I’m concerned, and you’re not leaving the planet. Not while I can stop you.” He swung the armrest like a bat, smacking the right side of Juliana’s head.

The impact sent Juliana reeling, causing the back of her skull to strike the edge of the open hatch. Her eyes rolled back and upward as her entire body lost all tension. The collision with the doorway spun her slack body to the left and gravity carried her over the threshold of the ramp to the thermocrete floor below. A loud crack accompanied her landing, just as Soong entered the shuttle bay.

“Julie!” Soong ran across the deck towards his wife. He skidded to a halt next to her, then reached into his pocket with his left hand and withdrew a phaser. “You’d better pray she’s still alive.” Without waiting for Handy’s answer, Soong fired the weapon, and the heavyset man dropped the armrest, fell forward and rolled down the ramp to the takeoff strip. Soong turned his attention back to Juliana. “Julie… no, please be all right.”

Juliana stirred with a moan, “Noonian? What … what happened?”

“Tom Handy attacked you.” Soong slipped the phaser back into his pocket, “Can you move? Let’s get you into the shuttle and get out of here.”

“I think so.” Juliana slowly rose to her hands and knees, “My head hurts.” As she got to her feet, she lifted her right hand to wipe gently at her nose. “My nose is bleeding, and I have a headache, but I’m fine.” She wobbled, unsteady on her feet at first, then regained her bearings. “Did you… Is Tom dead?”

“He’s just stunned.” Noonian reached to take her arm, “Come on. I’ll help you to your seat, clean up this mess, and then we’ll launch.” 

As she moved up the ramp, Juliana doubled over, retched for a moment, and vomited a small amount of bile onto the surface of the incline. “I’m sorry, Noonian…”

“Don’t worry about that.” Soong continued urging her up into the escape vehicle, “I’ll take care of it. You just get into the seat and rest.” Within a few minutes, he managed to get her into the port side chair and harness. “Once we’re away, I’ll make a cold pack for your head.” He ran to the deck and dragged Tom Handy’s unconscious body away from the launch area. Soong pushed the container and crate back into the shuttle, then retrieved the armrest and placed it with the other parts of the recumbent chair. With a press of a button on the side panel, he lowered the door to the aft cargo bay.

Several minutes passed, and the shuttle’s engines came to life. The doors to the surface of the planet opened, and a cascade of dust and dry soil poured down onto both the vehicle and the deck. Unhindered by the rain of dirt, the small shuttle achieved lift off, hovered for a brief moment, then departed through the doors and out of the surveillance camera’s view.

Everything faded to black.

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58540.4**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

The illumination in the holodeck gradually returned to full standard lux, bringing the default hologrid back. 

Data’s lips pressed together in a thin line and his golden eyes stared ahead without blinking, as if he were still viewing the holoprogram.

Doctor Crusher remained still, seated in-between Data and Picard. Her face had lost what little color it normally contained, and her strawberry-blonde eyebrows were knit into a slight frown. “She had a subdural hematoma.”

Captain Louvois leaned her head and looked to the right, past Picard to Crusher, “Pardon me, Doctor?”

Doctor Crusher brought her hand to her chin, “The head injury that Juliana received from the blunt trauma. I would bet anything that she had a subacute subdural hematoma.” Her eyes met Louvois’ and then Picard’s, “She might have seemed lucid, but her immediate symptoms suggest there was internal damage. After a few days or so, she’d lapse into a coma and eventually, the intracranial pressure would build up and kill her, if she didn’t have immediate medical attention.”

Deep vertical lines etched into the center of Captain Picard’s brows, “So many questions have been answered, yet so many more remain.” His eyes darted to the left, in Lore’s direction. The android’s head hung forward, his eyes were shut and he showed no reaction to Picard’s statement or Counselor Veluna’s hand on his upper back. Picard’s voice became steadier, “But, I think that can wait until we’ve all recovered from what we’ve just seen.”

Captain Louvois gave a quick nod to Picard, “I agree, although I do have a few more items to go over.” She folded her hands on the table in front of her, “Doctor Chipman, is there anything more to see, as far as the last days of the colonists are concerned?”

T’Mera turned her chair to face the table’s occupants. “The colonists spent their final two days in the shelter. If you really wish, I can turn those days into a holoprogram, but I should warn you that it won’t be pleasant. There was a great deal of bickering and some physical altercations among them. On stardate 14999.1, the security camera recorded a flash of light, and everyone in the bunker vanished.”

“A brief summary is fine.” Captain Louvois glanced at Lore, then back at T’Mera, “What happened to the PADD with the report on it?”

T’Mera’s fingers tapped on the console next to her, “On stardate 15267.4, surveillance cameras recorded Kila Marr entering the facility and after searching a few of the labs, she found the PADD that the colonists had left behind and took it with her when she left. The next recorded incursion to the underground installation is when the Pakleds find B-4’s storage unit, a few years later. The surveillance cameras went dormant after that, until the Enterprise away team arrived, twenty-six years later.”

“All right. Thank you, Doctor Chipman.” Captain Louvois placed her hands, palms-down, on the surface of the table, “This hearing is now in recess and will reconvene at the beginning of the next beta shift.”

The somber atmosphere filled with the sounds of chairs moving as everyone rose from their seats. Muttered farewells followed, as Picard, Crusher, Louvois and Veluna made their way to the holodeck exit. 

Lore remained seated, but lifted his head and opened his eyes. “Well, dear brother, was it what you expected?”

“No. It was not.” Data’s voice strained to produce even a hushed reply, “I am currently analyzing the entirety of what we have witnessed, but I am having difficulty processing it. I cannot make sense of what transpired.”

“There’s nothing to make sense of. The holoprogram presentation was what everyone wanted to see, in place of my testimony.” Lore folded his arms across his chest closed his eyes once more. “I killed everyone except Father.”

The beep of a combadge interrupted any response from Data.

“La Forge to Data.”

Data tapped the combadge on his chest, “Go ahead, Geordi.”

“I’m in the terraforming control center. Doctor Tainer’s collapsed.”

“Thank you, Geordi. I’ll beam down to you.” Data turned to face T’Mera. “It seems we have gone from the skillet to the source of combustion.”


	36. Thrown Exceptions

**Stardate: 58540.3**

Omicron Theta Terraforming Station

 

Sunset painted the sky of Omicron Theta with reds, oranges and yellows fading upwards into the indigo of the coming twilight. Most of the engineering team assigned to the power and water systems for the installation had ceased work and returned to the underground bunker. Geordi La Forge finished replacing one of the valves on the water treatment pipes and looked up just in time to see the dimming sunlight become obscured by a tan, murky dust cloud. “Bensen! We have an incoming dust storm!” 

Bensen crawled out from under the distribution pumps, “How long do we have until it gets here?”

Geordi gathered his tools and placed them in the kit as he watched the dust cloud roll towards them like a gigantic wave, “We should have just enough time to get inside.”

Bensen grabbed his own tool kit and hurried back along the suspended scaffolding to the main platform to meet La Forge. “Let’s go, then.”

As the two engineers made their way to the Southern entrance of the underground bunker, dust blew past them, reducing visibility for Bensen. La Forge’s implants endowed him with the ability to see through the thick particulate matter, and Bensen followed closely behind him.

“We made it.” Geordi pressed the button on the panel by the door, then turned his back to the door. “I’m picking up a heat signature. Someone else is out here.” He cupped his hand around his mouth, “Hello?”

A woman scampered up to the doorway, in the midst of a coughing fit. “H--...”

“Don’t talk.” Geordi reached for the woman’s arm, “Let’s get inside first.” He pulled her with him through the open doorway, and Bensen pressed the interior panel, sealing the doorway behind them. As he cleaned the dust from his clothing, Geordi looked closely at the woman who had joined them. She stood a few inches shorter than him and appeared to be just past middle-age, with silver-grey hair pulled tightly back into a neat bun.

The woman began to flick the dust from her shirt and pants, “Ship’s sensors didn’t pick up that storm. I thought it was safe to come down to the surface.” 

“There’s no way to predict dust storms.” Bensen wiped his hands on his clothing, “At least we all made it in before the worst came through.”

Geordi studied the woman’s dark amber eyes for a moment, “Are you with the terraformers? I don’t recognize you.”

“Oh, no.” The woman held out her hand to La Forge, “I’m Lynn Darnell. I’m supposed to meet with Captain Phillipa Louvois on the Enterprise, but she’s in a meeting and I’m several hours early, so I figured I’d come down to the surface and see how the terraforming is being done.”

Geordi shook Lynn’s hand, “I’m Commander Geordi La Forge, from the Enterprise and this is Bjorn Bensen, Chief Engineer for the terraforming team.”

“Nice to meet you.” Lynn returned the handshake, then reached for Bensen’s hand. “Is it all right if I peek in on the work you’re doing? I wouldn’t want to distract anyone.”

Bensen shook Lynn’s hand with a nod, then beckoned her to follow, “I’m sure it’ll be no problem. Come this way. Director Kim is using an old geology lab as the terraforming control center.” 

Lynn fell into step with Bensen as La Forge brought up the rear. The trio soon reached the open doorway to the terraforming central control. A two meter high model globe of Omicron Theta occupied the center of the lab, while several workstations lined the walls. 

Juliana stood next to Luisa Kim by the rust-colored globe, “This area over here is an alluvial plain that we never tapped, but there’s a few aquifers underneath. Most of the underlying rock is porous.”

Luisa pushed the curved metal interface over the indicated section, “All right. Marking that area for some of the reservoir basins.” As she noticed the incoming trio, she pursed her lips, “It looks like you all were caught in a dust storm.”

Chief Bensen’s cheeks dimpled as he smiled, “It popped up unexpectedly. How are things going in here?”

“It’s coming along well.” Luisa looked back at Juliana, “Doctor Tainer, have you met Chief Bensen, yet? I think he’s been outside the whole time you’ve been down here.”

Juliana moved to meet Bensen and held her right hand out to him, “No, I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Juliana Tainer. Nice to meet you.”

Bensen took Juliana’s hand, gave it a single shake, then gripped it firmly. “Another cybernetic hand?” He brought his left hand up to inspect her hand in detail. “This is amazing work.”

“Cybernetic?” Juliana’s blue eyes widened and she stared at her own hand as Bensen’s fingers traced her palm.

Lynn took a few steps back from the blond-haired engineer, “That’s a bit more than weird.”

Geordi shouted, “Wait! Bensen, don’t--”

Juliana’s eyes unfocused, her jaw went slack, and she teetered forward as she lost consciousness.

Bensen managed to catch the geologist before her body hit the floor. “She’s fainted! We might need a medical team here.”

“Dammit.” Geordi ran to help with Juliana, then noticed Bensen’s confused expression, “It’s a long story, but she doesn’t know she’s an android. Her creator designed her to shut down if her true nature was discovered.”

“I’m sorry.” Bensen lowered Juliana gently to the floor. “I didn’t know…”

Lynn peered over from a couple of meters away, “Her creator?”

Luisa stared in disbelief, “I didn’t know, either. Is there anything we can do to help her?”

Geordi shook his head, “It’s all right, Director Kim. Doctor Soong designed her to fool everyone into thinking she’s human. Unless you know advanced cybernetics, there’s not much you can do for her.” He tapped his combadge, “La Forge to Data.”

Data’s voice replied, “Go ahead, Geordi.”

“I’m in the terraforming control center. Doctor Tainer’s collapsed.” Geordi let out a sigh.

A few moments passed before Data answered. “Thank you, Geordi. I will beam down to you.” 

Lynn bit her lower lip, “Um, I don’t want to be in the way. Is it all right if I just look around the installation?”

Luisa Kim headed to the doorway, “Of course. With Doctor Tainer, um, indisposed, I can’t do much here, at the moment. Let me show you around the facilities. Follow me.”

Lynn dipped her head to Luisa and moved to follow the terraformer. “It was nice meeting you, Commander La Forge and Chief Bensen. Good luck with her.”

A few minutes later, Data entered the lab and made his way to where Geordi and Bensen waited by Juliana’s side. “What has happened here?”

Geordi gave Data a quick pat on the back in greeting, “When Chief Bensen shook her hand, he told her she had a cybernetic hand. She shut down almost immediately.”

“I’m really sorry, Commander.” Bensen shook his head, “I didn’t realize it would be a problem.”

Data bent to examine Juliana, “It is all right, Chief Bensen, although I am curious to know the method which enabled you to determine that her hand is cybernetic. She has a feedback processor that is designed to send out a false bio-signal, making her indistinguishable from a human.”

Bensen held his right hand out to Data. “When I was just starting out as an engineer, I was involved in an accident that cost me my hand. It was replaced with a cybernetic prosthesis that gives me the ability to detect and analyze the atomic structure of anything I touch.”

Data’s eyebrows shot upwards, “That is how you knew that I was an android when you first met me. I can also see how such an ability is useful for someone in your field.”

“Very useful.” Bensen frowned as he placed his right hand on Juliana’s forehead, “What do we have to do to wake her up?”

Data shot Geordi a brief glance then turned back to Bensen, “I believe it would be best if we do not reactivate her immediately. While this is an unfortunate incident, it does present us with the opportunity to have T’Mera check Doctor Tainer’s programming.” He scooped Juliana into his arms, then stood. “I will take her to the Enterprise, now.”

“All right, Data.” Geordi gave Data a single, quick nod of his head, then looked back at Bensen, “The dust storm should be over by now. Let’s get back to working on the water treatment valves.”

Data returned the quick nod, then carried Juliana out into the hall and back to the transport site. “Data to Enterprise. Two to beam up.”

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58541.1**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Lore paced silently around the holodeck detention area as T’Mera worked diligently at her workstation. A set of monitors adorned Juliana’s head, similar to the ones that Lore wore attached to his open ports. He drew his attention away from the android geologist to fix an intense golden-eyed stare at the security guard arriving for the new shift. The young ensign’s hand moved to rest on the modified tricorder hooked to his belt as he followed the android’s movements with narrowed eyes. Lore continued the lap, passing the curved table on his way back to T’Mera. As he approached, T’Mera’s mouth opened slowly, followed by a slow inhale. Lore came to a halt beside the holographer, “That’s the fourth yawn in the past half an hour, T’Mera, and your eyes are blinking more. I think you need to get some sleep.”

Another yawn stretched T’Mera’s jawline, “Ensign Murphy is busy today, so I have to stay.”

“Data will be here.” Lore leaned against the wall and faced the sleepy holographer, “Unless you’re afraid to leave him alone with me.”

T’Mera fiddled with the lemniscate charm dangling from her choker, “There is some concern that you’ll knock Data out and try to impersonate him.”

A genuine grin spread across Lore’s face, “You think Data’s stupid enough to fall for that a third time?”

“It’s not a matter of Data being stupid.” T’Mera returned her focus to her display, “It’s about you being devious.”

Lore pushed himself away from the wall, “It’s your turn to take a leap of faith. Yes, I’m devious and my past exploits don’t exactly lend themselves to anyone trusting me, but if I really wanted to deceive you and Data, wouldn’t I keep quiet and wait for you to pass out?” He pointed his thumb towards the security guard, “And I’d still have Ensign Twitchy over there to contend with, as well as your photonic guards.”

T’Mera rubbed at her eyes, “Fine. After I give my report to Data, I’ll go rest.”

“It’s alpha shift now.” Lore glanced past the security guard to the holodeck exit. “He should be here, soon.” A smirk formed on his lips as the doors parted to allow Data entrance. “Right on time, brother.”

“Good morning, Lore.” Data continued walking until he reached T’Mera, then bent to kiss her. “Good morning, t’hy’la.”

T’Mera smiled as she returned the kiss. “Good morning, Bright Eyes. Would you like to hear my findings on Juliana’s programming?”

Data straightened to full height, “I am most anxious to hear your report.”

T’Mera swiveled in her chair to face the android brothers, “I’ll just launch into it, then. It was easy for me to separate Juliana’s synaptic scan… Her biological programming, so to speak… from what Doctor Soong added. There’s a program that shuts her down when it’s triggered by physical injury or sudden shock discovery, but there’s also a secondary program running whose purpose is to reset her if she starts to suspect what she is during solitary moments. That secondary program also nests the thoughts and memories that caused her to realize her true nature and erases them from her accessible memory engrams. Each time that happens, her system produces an event log for Soong. Over the past year, the frequency of her self-discovery has increased. That’s what’s causing her short term memory lapses and why they’re getting worse, as well as why she doesn’t remember making jewelry.”

“What about her not remembering that Data and I were active together?” Lore folded his arms across his chest and crossed his feet at the ankles.

T’Mera stifled a yawn, “There’s been some deliberate tampering with her memories where you’re concerned, Lore, as well as the memories centered around the escape from Omicron Theta. The true memories are nested, but she’s been given some holographically created ones in their place. I can only assume that Soong did it because the memories were causing her distress, or creating arguments. There’s no way to know for sure without asking Soong.”

Data’s head twitched in a sharp movement to the left, “Will you be able to remove the programming and restore her original memories?”

T’Mera rubbed at the back of her neck, “Easily. There’s even stack traces for me to follow. Did you decide if you want to continue to pretend she’s not an android?”

Data’s lips parted as he hesitated, “I have not been able to reach a resolution on that subject.” He paused, then resumed speaking, “I do notice, however, that you are showing signs of fatigue. While it is true that your body temperature and metabolic rate do not decrease due to your cybernetic anatomy, as a biological synaptic transfer you will eventually suffer from a decrease in mental acuity after an extended period of time without sufficient slumber.”

“I already told her to go to bed, Data.” Lore leveled his gaze at T’Mera. 

“Now it’s in stereo.” T’Mera pushed her chair away from the console as she stood. “I’ll go take a nap. Maybe by the time I get back, you two will figure out which way you want Juliana reactivated.”

Data dipped his head in a single nod, “Pleasant dreams, t’hy’la.” He watched her walk to the exit and vanish through the doors, then turned back to address Lore. “I am still having difficulty in deciding which reactivation scenario should be chosen for Mother.”

Lore stuck his tongue into the left side of his mouth, “I don’t see what the hardship is. Maybe you should just dismantle her while she’s deactivated and consider her finally gone.”

“She is our mother, Lore.” Data frowned at his brother, “How can you say such a thing?” 

“My lips and tongue move and I push air through my vocal synthesizer.” The left side of Lore’s mouth rose into a smirk, “Data, Juliana died around four decades ago. This is just an android.”

Data’s right eyebrow lowered as he studied Lore’s face. “She is a living being, even if her body is artificial. It would be akin to killing her.”

“Oh, so any android except me has the right to live?” Lore stared back at Data with equal intensity.

Data’s eyebrows realigned themselves, “I am very sorry that I treated you in that manner, as it was not the right thing to do, no matter what your crimes were. Given that you are dissatisfied with my past treatment of you, why do you recommend such a fate for her?”

“I guess it’s because I don’t see a way around it.” The anger in Lore’s voice diminished, “If she keeps suspecting the truth, she’ll eventually kill herself just from triggering the program. There could be more accidents in the future that shut her down, and who would be around to figure it out? They might even bury her, thinking she’s a biological organism who died. If she reactivated on her own, she wouldn’t be able to dig herself out. Or they might cremate her. Or any other number of bizarre methods the organics have of disposing of their dead.”

“I see your point, Lore.” Data let out a long sigh, then pressed his lips together, “Once again, I have not been able to separate what would be best for Mother from what would be best for me … or us.”

“You just want the easy way out.” Lore rubbed his chin, “I have an idea. Let’s call B-4 and ask him his opinion.” He walked over to T’Mera’s workstation, sat in her chair, and called up the subspace communications system. “Once I have the parameters set, it’ll just need your command codes.”

“What are you doing, Lore?” Data cocked his head, then moved towards his brother.

Lore’s fingers flew over the console, “I’m setting up the holographic interface and tactile protocols, including event logging for your lover.”

Data’s left eyebrow quirked upward, “You have been watching T’Mera work.”

Lore gritted his teeth, “Of course I have, brother. I like to learn new things. Don’t you? Doesn’t B-4?”

“Yes, of course.” Data circled around behind Lore’s chair, “It is just that, when you express such sentiments, it sounds far more menacing.”

Lore rolled his eyes, “Just give me the permission to call B-4 and don’t worry about how menacing I sound.”

Data leaned forward, “Close your eyes, please.” Once his brother’s eyes had shut, Data quickly keyed in the sequence to open the subspace channel. “You may open your eyes now, Lore.”

Lore opened his eyes and leaned back in the chair. “Now we just wait for him to indicate whether or not he’ll accept the communication from us.”

“I am surprised you want his opinion.” Data clasped his hands behind his back in the standard ‘at ease’ position. “You have been quite vocal about B-4 being slower than the both of us.”

Lore leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest, “I suppose I have.” He inhaled and exhaled deeply, “The current problem isn’t one that can be solved with speed, so B-4 will be just as capable as we are, if not more so.” The console beeped and Lore unfolded his arms to tap one of the touchscreen buttons. 

B-4’s holographic image materialized near the table. “Hello, Data and Lore.” He canted his head at Data, “It hasn’t been fifteen days, so I don’t have much of an update.”

Data gave B-4 a soft smile, “We have not called for an update. We require your assistance, if you are not currently occupied with any pressing matters.”

B-4 shook his head, “I was analyzing a piece of music for an elective study. It can wait. What sort of assistance do you need?”

Data indicated the unconscious woman on the chaise, “This is Doctor Juliana Tainer, the woman who was married to Doctor Soong and who helped him to create the three of us. We are having difficulty deciding whether or not to tell her about her true nature.”

B-4 looked back and forth between his two brothers, “Why ask me for help? I have no memory of this woman and never met her. There’s no emotional factor for me as to whether she knows her true nature or not.”

“Exactly. We need you as the tie-breaker.” Lore flashed a hollow, toothy smile at the prototype. “You may find it hard to believe, but Data and I are in disagreement about how to handle it.” 

B-4 tossed a glance at the unconscious woman on the chaise, “I remember the conversation from Ba’ku. This is the woman who died and our creator made an android of her, like you did with T’Mera?”

“Correct.” Data moved to stand beside the prototype, “However, this was done without her consent, as she was comatose and dying at the time. Our choices are to remove the shutdown command our father programmed into her, tell her that she is an android - and risk that she will be unhappy - or to repair her and reset her while concealing the truth of her existence.”

B-4’s eyes oscillated slowly, “Doctor Soong felt it best to keep the truth from her, so that she would be happy?”

“That is correct.” Data clasped his hands in front of him.

“Are we certain that she would be unhappy as an android?” B-4 inclined his head, observing his younger siblings.

“No, we are not.” Data shook his head.

B-4 went silent and still for a moment before speaking, “Do we consider Doctor Soong to be correct in his assumption that she would be unhappy as an android?”

Lore let out a loud, derisive snort, “He was known as Often Wrong for a good reason, and he didn’t take her wishes into account that much when she was alive and unhurt, so I’d be inclined to say that it was a decision he made based on his own desires. Anyway, Father made an android body for his own continuation, so how bad can it be?”

B-4 stepped away from the chaise, “The solution seems obvious to me, but I could be missing something that was not yet stated. Take the shutdown program out of her and activate her. Tell her the truth about what was done to her, and then ask her what she wants out of the possible options. Can T’Mera put the program back in, if she wants to be alive but thinking she’s human?”

“I am certain that T’Mera could accomplish that task.” Data’s eyes widened at B-4’s question.

B-4 placed his hands on his hips, “That is the way, then. In all this time, no one has asked what Doctor Tainer wants. Rather than guessing and making the decision for her once more, why not ask her opinion?”

“That is an excellent idea. Thank you, B-4.” Data smiled, then checked Lore’s reaction.

Lore shrugged, “That works for me.” He eyed B-4, “You’re still wearing that hat.”

B-4 placed his hands on the red knit cap, “I like my hat. Since it bothers you, I will remove it.” He pulled the hat off, then stuffed it into the right pocket of his jumpsuit.

Lore smirked, “That’s better, but your hair’s a mess. Don’t you brush it?”

“No.” B-4 stepped over to the punching bag and pressed his fingers against it. “Sometimes, Emily will brush it, if she thinks it’s too messy.”

Data started to speak, when the sound of the holodeck doors opening caught his attention. “T’Mera cannot possibly have taken a full nap in so short a time span…” 

Lore’s nose twitched as he inhaled deeply through his nostrils. He bolted upright and ran to Data’s side to get a better view of the woman walking towards them. His yellow eyes widened as far as possible as he took in the silvery hair, amber eyes and soft smile on her face. His jaw dropped and he walked towards her, as if in a trance.

Data quirked his left eyebrow and shot a look of confusion at the equally baffled B-4, then focused his attention back on Lore and the grey-haired woman approaching their position.

Lynn Darnell raised both of her arms as she reached Lore. The sleeves of her shirt slid back with the movement, revealing a gold and silver braided bracelet with yellow and brown gemstones on her left wrist. She grasped Lore’s shoulders and smiled up at him, “Ohey, Lore.”


	37. Propagation of Error

**Stardate: 58541.1**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Lore stared down at Lynn as his respiration and blinking simulation ceased momentarily. “I thought you died.” He visibly struggled to speak, capable of only a strangled whisper, “I thought I’d killed you.”

“I can’t believe you recognize me.” Lynn’s right hand caressed a line from Lore’s shoulder to his neck.

“Of course I recognize you.” Lore leaned his head to press against her hand. “When I look at someone, I see more than hair, eyes, skin and the coverings on a body. I see bone structure, and I sense the heartbeats, respiration and unique scent of each biological individual. Even without your spectacles, I would always know you.” He closed his eyes as her fingers traced over his jawline, “How is it possible that you’re here? That you’re alive?”

“When Mom saw what Dad did to me, it was the final straw.” Lynn let her hand rest on top of Lore’s shoulder once more, “As soon as he left for the lab, she packed up and told me we were leaving. I had just enough time to squeeze in a goodbye to you, and then help her get the kids onto the Wisconsin.”

Lore pressed his lips into a pale, thin line, “The transport ship. You left the planet.”

“Once we got settled in on New Sydney, I tried to send a message.” Lynn’s fingers drifted to one of the monitors attached to Lore’s open ports, “But there was no reply from Omicron Theta. There wasn’t even a ping to my transmission. A few months later, I found a Starfleet report saying that everyone on the colony had vanished without a trace.”

“They were about to deactivate me permanently and replace me with Data.” Lore frowned and brought up one of his hands to stop Lynn from touching the monitors on his head, “I called the Crystalline Entity and had it come eat the planet, humans and all. I killed everyone except Doctor Soong.”

Lynn bit her lower lip and lowered her gaze to the floor, “Maybe I was wrong to leave you. If I’d stayed-”

“Then you would have been there when I killed everyone, instead of distant and safe.” Lore interjected. His voice grew softer, “I thought you were in the security center when I called the Crystalline Entity. My plan was to kill everyone except for you, and then we’d be free to be together.”

Lynn blinked back emerging tears, “Did you think I’d be happy living on a dead world where so many people I knew had just been killed?”

“I wasn’t really thinking clearly.” Lore hung his head, still keeping his gaze focused on Lynn’s face, “And it’s been pointed out to me that my long-term planning skills aren’t exactly the best.” Movement in his peripheral vision caught Lore’s attention, and he whipped his head to snap at B-4, “Do you mind?”

B-4 ceased his inquisitive approach towards the couple, “Oh. No, I don’t mind. In fact, I find this quite fascinating. Please continue the conversation.” He answered Lore’s wordless glare with an innocent smile.

Lynn brought her hand up to her mouth to hide a giggle, “I suppose we don’t get to have this reunion alone.”

Data inclined his head apologetically, “It is unfortunate that the two of you cannot be afforded privacy, but Lore is in custody for the duration of the legal proceedings that will eventually establish his status as an individual, as well as adjudicate possible punitive measures for his past crimes.”

Lynn smiled with amusement at the android in the Starfleet uniform, “Hello, Data. It’s all right. I understand what’s going on.” Her eyes turned back to B-4, “There’s three of you, now? Did Doctor Soong make another one after Data?”

Lore rolled his eyes, “No. That’s B-4. His construction preceded mine. B-4, this is Evelynn Lucien, someone I knew from Omicron Theta. You already know Data, after a fashion, but he doesn’t know you.”

“Lynn Darnell.” Lynn corrected as she looked at B-4. “It’s nice to meet you.” She looked up at Lore, “I changed my name after we moved to Farius Prime.”

“Lynn, then.” Lore pressed his lips together, “What are you doing here?”

Data moved to the table and held one of the chairs out, “Would you care to sit down, Ms. Darnell?”

Lynn sat down gratefully, “Thank you, Data.” She folded her hands on the table surface, “I’m not sure if you remember Mira, Lore.”

Lore pulled his rolling chair over to the table and sat facing her, “The baby. I am incapable of forgetting.”

Lynn gave a nod to Lore, “Mom had trouble supporting all seven of us, even with me helping by getting a job. Once we realized that Dad wouldn’t be coming after us, Mom sent Mira to live with some of Dad’s relatives on Earth. I kept in touch with Mira over the years, even after she joined the Starfleet Corps of Engineers. Since she kept her name, she was approached recently by Starfleet legal, asking if she was related to or knew someone named Evelynn Lucien. Mira contacted me with the information, and I agreed to come here and meet with Captain Louvois to give some testimony as to your history and your character.” She unlinked her hands and reached across the table to Lore, “I worried that you were dead. I’m glad to see you’re still active, even after forty-three years.”

“Forty-three years for you.” Lore frowned, but grasped her hand, “It’s only been six years of activity for me, and I spent nearly two of those drifting alone in space.” He shot Data an irritated glance.

Data returned an equally irritated look at his brother, “Lore, I apologize for that. I am hoping that we will be able to ameliorate our relationship.”

Lore grunted at Data, “We’ll see how all this plays out.”

Lynn looked between the two, “Have you both been fighting? That’s a shame. You were always so close.”

Data clasped his hands in front of him, “Lore and I disembarked upon the erroneous substrate interface during his first reactivation after the colony had been destroyed.”

Lynn tilted her head and knitted her brow, then let out a short laugh, “Got off on the wrong foot. You still talk that way, I see.” She turned her attention to B-4, “Do you talk that way, too?”

B-4 shook his head with a smile, then pushed errant strands of hair out of his eyes, “No, I talk like a regular person.”

Lore lowered his chin and stared at his and Lynn’s joined hands, “When I thought everyone on the Enterprise was rejecting me, I became angry and stopped thinking clearly again. I misbehaved.”

Lynn winced, “I’m so sorry, Lore. Maybe I should have tried to take you with us.”

A lopsided smirk replaced Lore’s grimace, “Me in Orion Syndicate territory? I’m sure that would have worked out just great.” The smile faded, and Lore stared wide-eyed at Lynn, “Are you risking your life coming here to help me?”

Lynn’s eyes flitted to Data, then back to Lore, “At first, my employer was nervous, until I explained about Omicron Theta, showed them the communication from Captain Louvois to Mira, and assured them that I’m only here to testify about an android and a long-dead colony. I’ll be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

Lore glanced down at the bracelet on Lynn’s left hand, “If Data’s lover is as good a programmer as she claims, I’ll be fine. She’s going to fix Juliana, first.” He indicated the unconscious woman on the chaise.

Lynn peered across the table to the chaise next to the workstation, “I thought she looked familiar. That’s Juliana Soong?” She turned back to look at Lore, “But you said everyone except Doctor Soong died.”

Lore’s lips curled in a soft sneer, “She did die, but Often Wrong transferred her mind into an android body.” He returned to a solemn expression, “She’s malfunctioning.”

“I gathered as much.” Lynn let out a sigh, “I feel so bad for leaving you, Lore, but I did what I felt I had to do.”

“I know.” Bitterness dripped from Lore’s voice, “Everyone did what they “had” to do. You had to leave me. Often Wrong had to build Data and take me apart. Data had to leave me floating in space… and I did what I “had” to do, just like anyone else.” He opened his mouth to continue, but the sound of the holodeck doors whooshing open stopped him.

Captain Louvois strode over to the table and set her shoulder bag down on the surface, “Good morning, Ms. Darnell.” She blinked at the presence of the three identical androids, “Good morning, Lore, Data and…” A smile formed on her lips, “B-4? Is that you?”

B-4 smiled cheerfully as he approached the table, “Yes. Hello, again, Captain Louvois. I am helping my brothers.”

Captain Louvois glanced at the empty workstation, “Where’s Doctor Chipman?”

Data relocated to stand next to T’Mera’s workstation, “She required a short period of slumber, in order to restore her intellectual and psychological efficiency to its fullest.”

Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek for a moment, “A nap.”

“Ah, I see.” Captain Louvois reached into her bag, pulled out a PADD and slide it down to Lynn, “Ms. Darnell, if you could read that and mark the statements as either accurate or inaccurate, I’d appreciate it. My assistant should be ready to take your full deposition soon.”

“Of course, Captain.” Lynn released Lore’s hand and reached for the PADD. 

As Lynn answered the statements, Captain Louvois turned her attention back to Lore. “Do you have any objections to the hearing board watching some of your interactions with the Pakleds?”

Lore shook his head, “No objections. You’ve seen so much, already, what’s a little bit more?” He leaned back in the chair and folded his arms across his chest. “I’m afraid my time on board the Pakled trade ship won’t make for an exciting holonovel.”

Lynn slid the PADD back to Louvois, “I’m all done.”

Captain Louvois picked up the PADD and her eyes scanned over the writing on it, “Ms. Darnell, I do have a question for you.” She placed the datapad back in her bag, “When Lore told you that he had no programming that prevented him from harming humans, why didn’t you report that to your father or Doctor Soong?”

Lynn frowned as she replied, “I did report it to both of them. They knew.”

Captain Louvois’ frown matched Lynn’s. “They knew, but they let Lore continue on without those directives? Would you know why?”

“They were afraid to touch Lore.” Lynn reached for Lore’s hand once more.

Louvois rubbed her chin, “Afraid of Lore? Because he was violent?”

Lynn shook her head, “Not so much afraid of him, but afraid to mess with his programs, in case they might break him.” She set her amber eyes on Data, “Then they made you and experimented to their heart’s content.”

B-4 let out a gasp, “That is irresponsible and negligent!” He frowned as his eyes slowly oscillated, “Lore’s creators were criminally negligent. They exhibited an indifference or disregard for human life or for the safety of living beings. They need to be held accountable for that.”

Lore lifted his left elbow to rest on the back of his rolling chair and shot a look of disbelief at B-4, “Well, Barrister-4, I’m afraid Edward Lucien can’t be held accountable for anything. I killed him with my own hands.”

Lynn winced at Lore’s statement, “I suppose that would be poetic justice.”

“I’m sorry, Evelynn. He was trying to vaporize me.” Lore averted his gaze for a moment.

Data watched Lore, then tilted his head to look at B-4, “I do not think that Doctor Soong will allow anyone to hold him liable at this point in time. Forty-three years has passed since the destruction of Omicron Theta and Doctor Soong is technically dead.”

B-4’s eyes oscillated once more, “The nearest legal precedent to this situation is the case of Richard Daystrom and the sentient computer, M-5, in 2268. Richard Daystrom was not held responsible for the homicidal actions of his creation. There were no adverse effects to his esteem or legacy, although he did suffer a nervous breakdown that required fourteen months of psychological rehabilitation. He later wrote ‘Principles of Robotics’, which is required first year reading at Starfleet Academy in the Introduction to Artificial Intelligence course.” 

A stunned silence followed B-4’s remarks, with four pairs of eyes locked on the prototype in expressions ranging from awe to shock. 

Captain Louvois recovered first, “Thank you, B-4. We’ll keep it in mind, if there’s to be a trial. Right now, we’re determining Lore’s status and whether he can be rehabilitated.”

Both of Data’s eyebrows twitched upwards as he regarded B-4, followed by a “Hmm!” Then he regained his composure and resumed watching Captain Louvois.

“I’m not familiar with history.” Lynn looked between B-4 and Lore, “What wound up happening to M-5?”

The familiar, sullen smirk returned to Lore’s lips, “They tried to shut it down, but couldn’t. They wound up convincing it that what it did was wrong. The M-5 terminated itself to atone for its actions.” He pushed his chair away as he stood, and made his way to the punching bag. “If I cascade after T’Mera installs the new morality subroutine, I’ll be doing the same thing.” 

Captain Louvois turned to Lynn, “In your opinion, do you think that Lore would have been different if his morality subroutine had been running on Omicron Theta?”

Lynn nodded in reply, “Yes. I mean, I kept him out of trouble most of the time and all I really did was pay attention to him and tell him to behave. A subroutine would have to be better than me, right?”

Data threw a worried glance at Lore, “That remains to be seen. However, you did seem to serve as his conscience for the duration of your time together.”

“Speaking of time…” Lore leaned against the punching bag and regarded Lynn, “You traveled a few days just to give an hourlong deposition?”

Lynn shook her head, “I could have done that by subspace. When I found out you were still alive, I wanted to come here to see you. I’ll be staying for a little while to try to help you, if I can. I owe you that much.”

Captain Louvois fished through her bag and pulled out another datapad, “Ms. Darnell, my assistant should be ready for you in the other room. Captain Picard and the others will be arriving soon, for the depositions on Lore’s first awakening on the Enterprise.” She looked over at Data, “Commander, are you able to work the holodeck, so that the depositions will be recorded?”

Before Data could reply, Lore spoke, “The holodeck is recording as we speak, Your Honor. It’s continual.”

Data raised an eyebrow, “Lore is correct. There is nothing special we need to do, with regard to the holodeck. We can proceed without Doctor Chipman.”

Lynn rose from her chair and turned to leave, “I’ll see you later, Lore.”

The wry grin spread across Lore’s face once more, “I’ll be here.” He watched her walk to the exit, then let the smile fade. “B-4, are you leaving, too?”

B-4 stuck his left hand in his pocket, “Not unless I’m told to. Emily will be teaching for a few class periods, so I have time. I would like to be here when Mother is fixed, if there are no objections.”

Captain Louvois looked up from her PADD, “I have no objections, B-4, as long as you aren’t disruptive.”

“I will be quiet during the hearing.” B-4 removed his hand from his pocket, just as people began to enter the holodeck. He smiled and waved at each person as they took their seat at the table. “Hello, Captain Picard… and Doctor Crusher… and bald woman who I do not know.”

Lore moved to take his seat at the table, “This is Counselor Veluna.” He smiled at the bald woman to his right. “Counselor, meet B-4.”

Veluna dipped her head with a smile, “Hello, B-4. It’s nice to meet you.” A crease formed in the bridge of her nose as she watched Data take his seat at the far end of the table. “Are you all right, Commander?”

Data broke from his preoccupied state, “Yes, Counselor. I am fine.”

Captain Louvois tapped the table, “The inquiry into the Soong-type android named Lore will now recommence with depositions pertaining to Lore’s reactivation on stardate 41242.4. The logs of the captain and senior officers have been reviewed. Lore was discovered on Omicron Theta and reassembled on the Enterprise, where he subsequently incapacitated and impersonated Data and then called the Crystalline Entity to their position in order to feed it with the life aboard the ship. Lore was then beamed out into space and abandoned.” She looked at Lore, “Do you agree with the sequence of events?”

Lore pressed his lips together, nodding, “That’s accurate.”

Captain Louvois raised an eyebrow, “Can you shed any light on your actions and motivations?”

“Shed light… Let’s see…” Lore leaned back in the chair. “From my viewpoint, I had just been grazed and damaged by a phaser that was set to kill. I was under the impression that I had killed Evelynn, my only friend. I had just been deactivated and dismantled, so that Data could replace me. Now I wake up in a strange place, my internal chronometer tells me that twenty-six years have passed, and I see Data standing there, having apparently lived all that time while accepted by humans. It made me angry. That was my general motivation.”

Louvois ran a hand through her feathered coppery hair and sighed, “Let’s move to specific motivations. At what point did you decide to call the Crystalline Entity to the Enterprise?”

Lore leaned forward in the chair, diverting his gaze to the table surface, “After Data told me I’d have to attend Starfleet Academy in order to have a uniform like the one he was wearing.”

Captain Picard steepled his fingers on the table in front of him, “But how did you manage to speak to the Crystalline Entity when it was hailed? You were speaking standard to it on the bridge, yet it never responded to any hails that we sent.”

Lore raised his head to look at Picard, “I had sent a filtered subspace communication to it, prior to that, telling it that I would identify myself as Data. That’s the only word it had to understand when your blonde security officer opened the channel. To the Crystal Entity, what I said must have sounded like “Blah blah blah blah Data. Blah blah blah.” When I entered the cargo bay, I used the translation filter.”

Picard nodded in an attempt to keep his expression neutral, “You knew so much about the Crystalline Entity. Why didn’t you tell us, in your report? With your cooperation, we could have communicated with it and found a way to lead it home.”

“I didn’t trust any of you and I thought you would be like the colonists. When I went up to the bridge and La Forge showed me how to work the helm, everyone started to become suspicious of me. I could see it in their eyes; I was still the monster and Data was the good android.” Lore grimaced, screwing his eyes shut.

Veluna placed a hand on Lore’s upper back, “Are you all right, Lore? Do you need to rest?”

Lore relaxed slightly, and opened his eyes, “I’ll be fine. The recursive loop of my morality subroutine has me second-guessing every single choice I’ve made. It’s… unpleasant.”

“Is that supposed to make us feel sorry for you?” Doctor Crusher interjected, “You threatened to kill my son and your “kindness” included shooting me with a phaser.”

Lore gritted his teeth at Crusher, “I’m not excusing what I did, but might I remind you that the phaser I used was the one I had taken from you, and that I didn’t change the setting. You were trying to kill me. All I did was set the sleeve of your coat on fire. Did you think I missed you and hit only your clothing by accident?”

Louvois tapped on the table, “Let’s keep things civil, please.” After Doctor Crusher dipped her head to acknowledge the censure, Louvois addressed Lore, “So, it was vengeance that motivated you to call the Crystalline Entity to the Enterprise?”

“Not quite.” Lore let out a long sigh as he allowed his anger to drain, “Data let me use the computer in his quarters, so that I could learn about the ship. I realized that if I had control of the Enterprise, I could travel with the Crystalline Entity and protect it, allowing it to feed on any world it found suitable. I could then extract all the knowledge it had gathered from any high-order lifeforms it devoured.” He stared pointedly at Picard, “Didn’t anyone wonder why the Crystalline Entity was going after uninhabited planets or sparsely populated colonies or tiny, isolated ships, when it was roaming through sectors where there were planets teeming with life? It was capable of moving at several light years per second. Rigel or New Sydney could have kept it full for a year or two! No, it tried to avoid humanoids whenever it could, unless it was horrifically starving.” 

“And that was why it didn’t attack us when we lowered the shields to beam you out.” Data murmured. 

Louvois glanced at the PADD in front of her, and then at Data, “Commander, according to the official log entries, Lore was transported into space, but never retrieved. Was a buoy placed, so that Starfleet could find him?”

Data pressed his lips together, “No.”

Louvois set her attention on Picard and Data, “The intention was to simply leave him there, floating in isolation?”

Data opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated.

A genuine smile graced Lore’s lips, “Tell them, Data. Tell the truth. When you did that, you had no idea that we could survive out there.”

Data’s voice came out in a hoarse whisper, “I thought you were dead. Yes, I thought you were … gone permanently. It never occurred to me that you were still alive.”

Louvois frowned, “And no one else on the senior staff thought those actions were severe? Or even that Lore, as the only other Soong android at the time, was too dangerous and valuable to risk falling into the hands of those whose interests run counter to the Federation?”

“No, your honor.” Data answered tersely, “Even as we transported him out into space, Lore was firing a phaser at me that was set to kill. I do not know that we could have...” He trailed off, then amended, “We could have set up a containment field, beamed him into it, and then deactivated him if he showed signs of functioning. Or we could have towed his body with a tractor beam.”

Louvois let out a long sigh and covered her face with her hand, “If it weren’t for the trail of death behind Lore, this whole thing could have been called a comedy of errors.”

Picard spoke up, “The responsibility for abandoning Lore’s body was mine, as the captain. We will let the record show that.”

“Very well.” Louvois nodded, then tapped the table, “The depositions for the incident on stardate 41242.4 are concluded. We will reconvene tomorrow, at sixteen-hundred hours, to review information on Lore’s time with the Pakleds.” After Louvois stuffed the datapad back into her bag, everyone filed out of the room, with the exception of the three androids and the security guard. 

B-4 stepped around the punching bag, observing his two, silent brothers, each of them still seated at the curved meeting table. Seconds stretched to minutes, and B-4 studied each of their faces, noting the differences in expression; Data’s brow creased slightly, his eyes narrowed and his lips parted a millimeter, while Lore’s frown deepened and he pressed his lips together in a thin, pale line.

“My attempts to terminate you were not performed gleefully, Lore.” Data broke the lull, now staring directly at his errant sibling. “While I could not experience the emotions I generated, when I recall those memories in order to determine how I felt, I discover that I was distressed, heartbroken and angry. I had wanted another sentient android to share my life with, and you were unable to do that.”

“How could I?” Lore spat back, “You took the side of the humans. They accepted you, but not me. The three of us should have been together, but B-4 rejected me, too.”

B-4 stamped his foot with indignation, “I did not reject you. I gave you what you wanted, in exchange for you not hurting Emily.” He moved closer to Lore’s chair, “If you had stayed with me and remained calm, you would have been surrounded by androids instead of all biologicals.”

Lore waved a hand dismissively at the prototype, “Those aren’t androids. They’re mindless automatons.”

B-4 bent to level his eyes with Lore’s, “They are the  _ true  _ androids. The three of  _ us _ are the aberrations, Lore. We are mechanical people, and you are the closest to being fully human. I am thinking that when our creator made you, the humans expected androids like the ones on Galor IV. Can you imagine how you might have seemed unexpected to them? You are rather terrifying, and this is coming from someone who looks exactly like you.”

Lore turned his face away from B-4. “I don’t care what the humans expect or want. They’re irrelevant.”

B-4 altered his stance to keep eye contact, “If that’s true, then why do you seek their affection and approval? Why would their rejection anger you so, if you think they are irrelevant?”

Lore shut his eyes, “You’re not my counselor.”

“No.” B-4 placed his hand atop Lore’s. “I am your brother. So is Data.” He gestured with his free hand, wiggling a finger at Data.

Data stood and moved to join his two siblings, glancing inquisitively at B-4.

B-4 grabbed Data’s hand and placed it in such a way that both of their hands enveloped Lore’s clenched fist. “Many bad things have happened because of anger, but we are still brothers.”

As Lore’s eyes opened and fixated on his younger brother, Data revisited an old memory of Doctor Crusher explaining reconciliation to him:

 

_ “They’re brothers, Data. Brothers forgive.” _


	38. Conditional Expressions

**Stardate: 58541.5**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Forgiveness turned out to be more difficult than Data had originally thought. Once T’Mera had returned from her nap and started work on Doctor Tainer, the three android brothers sat down at the table to get to know each other better. There remained a good deal of animosity between himself and Lore, so what began as a three-way exchange developed into Data and Lore asking B-4 about his life and ambitions.

Lore’s throaty cackle filled the holodeck, “Law? Really?”

B-4 glowered at Lore, then turned to Data. “I can’t tell if he’s mocking me.”

Data sighed and tossed a glance at the workstation where T’Mera worked at repairing Juliana’s programming. “Perhaps the idea of the three of us being able to pass the time in pleasant conversation was somewhat premature.” He turned back to focus on B-4, “I do not believe that Lore is directly mocking your aspirations, but is merely finding amusement in your choice of possible studies. Lore’s sense of humor seems to be unique to him. I, on the other hand, find your interest in the Federation legal system to be commendable.”

“If you want to be a lawyer, you might have to brush your hair.” Lore grinned, then reached out to smooth down a few of B-4’s errant strands.

B-4 ducked away from Lore’s hand. “I will, when it’s time. I haven’t made up my mind about it, yet. Even if I were a lawyer, I don’t think I’d be able to represent you.” He paused, then added, “Assuming your case even gets to trial. It may not.”

Lore leaned back in the chair and folded his arms. “I’ll wind up in some kind of penal colony, if they decide to let me live, won’t I?”

“I don’t know what they’re going to do about you. The Federation is averse to putting anyone to death.” B-4 regarded Lore with wide, yellow eyes. “But, as Data might say, humans provide an increasingly complicated and often contradictory set of variables to navigate, heuristically speaking. Most of the early rulings are not favorable for artificial intelligence, and sentient holograms are still not allowed to have rights. Both Data and I have been deemed sentient individuals, so it’s likely that you’ll be considered the same. Then, they would have to treat you like they would any biological being who’s committed your crimes.”

Lore scowled at his brothers, “We shouldn’t have to answer to them. We’re superior to them… better than they are.”

“No, Lore.” B-4 shook his head, “We are not better or lesser than… we’re simply different. The sooner you accept that, the happier your life will be.”

A few seconds passed before Lore responded, “It’s not going to be easy. I’ve been clinging to that idea since Omicron Theta.”

“If you are sincere in your desire to be repaired and rehabilitated, you will have many people assisting you, Lore.” Data tilted his head, then turned to face T’Mera’s workstation. “You have stopped rapidly chewing your gum, t’hy’la. Does that mean you have finished?”

“Sorry.” T’Mera let out a soft chuckle, “I didn’t realize I was being noisy. I’ll try to chew quietly. But yes, I’ve finished restoring her nested memories and marked the implanted ones as fake. We can reactivate her.”

Lore moved to a position behind the punching bag. “I’ll watch from over here.”

T’Mera removed the optical cable from Juliana’s primary port and closed the panel above it. “Data, do you want to do the honors of inserting the interface chip and waking her?”

“I would like that, t’hy’la.” Data switched places with T’Mera, then carefully replaced the tiny interface chip into the proper slot in Juliana’s positronic brain. With his left hand, he gently closed her forehead panel.

Juliana’s eyelids moved, blinked several times, then opened. She turned her head to look up at him and smiled, “Data.” Her expression of delight was immediately obliterated by a frown, followed by a scowl. “Oh… For the…” She sat up and stared at her hands, “Data… What’s happening to me?”

Data winced, “You fainted in the terraforming control center.”

“The last thing I remember is that engineer shaking my hand… saying something about cybernetics.” Juliana swung her legs over the side of the chaise, nearly falling over.

Data grabbed Juliana’s shoulders to steady her, “Do not try to get up too quickly. You have had a substantial shock.”

“My hand is cybernetic.” Juliana’s eyes settled on her hands, “Both of them.” A frown knitted her eyebrows as she lifted her eyes to look up at Data, then at B-4 and T’Mera. “It’s coming to back to me. There’s memories…” She began to tremble as her eyes unfocused.

T’Mera reached up to fiddle with the lemniscate charm on her choker. “Don’t try to remember everything at once, Juliana. Try to relax and go slow. If you need water or anything, let me know.”

“I couldn’t possibly keep anything down, right now.” Tears began to course down Juliana’s cheeks, “I feel nauseated.” She screwed her eyes shut. “I remember making jewelry. Lore was right… We left them to die. It was our fault and we left… I can remember how I was injured, but then nothing for a while. I woke up on Terlina III.”

Data spoke in a gentle tone, “The injury you received had put you into a coma.”

“What did he do to me?” Juliana opened her eyes to focus on Data’s face, “What happened to me?”

Lore spoke up from beside the punching bag, “Let me put it this way, Mother… You finally got the female android you wanted.”

“Lore!” Data shot an irritated glare at his brother. “You are not helping matters.”

Juliana looked past Data to B-4. Her eyes widened, “I thought _you_ were Lore.” She twisted her neck to view the punching bag. “There’s three of you.”

B-4 responded with a genial smile as he rose from his chair to stand near Data. “I’m B-4. Lore is hiding by the punching bag. Data is right next to you. Please try to remain calm and don’t let Lore’s sense of humor upset you.”

Data opened his mouth, hesitated for a couple of seconds, then continued in a soft spoken manner, “When Doctor Soong realized that nothing could be done to save you, he built an android body and transferred your synaptic scans into a positronic matrix. He could not bear the thought of losing you.”

Juliana’s eyes darted to T’Mera, “I’m an android?” She seemed to contemplate the holographer for a moment, “You tried to soften the blow, the other day, at breakfast. Telling me about yourself.” She turned her attention back to Data. “And mentioning that it was possible to create an android who was unaware...” She shook her head, “Why would he do this to me?” Fresh tears began to run down her cheeks, “Oh, that man…”

Data kneeled next to Juliana, to keep himself at eye level with her, “Is your current state of distress caused by the awareness of your body’s synthetic nature?”

B-4 inched closer to the chaise, “Data is asking if you’re crying because you’re an android.”

A few more sobs racked Juliana’s body, “I’m crying because I’m angry at Noonian. Give me a moment to deal with all of this, please.” She covered her face with her hands.

Data turned his head to give a helpless look to T’Mera and B-4.

T’Mera closed the distance between herself and Data, then rested her hand on his shoulder.

When he noticed Juliana dropping her hands to look at him, Data faced her once more, “You are angry at Father because he transferred you into an android body?”

“No, Data.” Juliana inhaled deeply, then exhaled, “I’m angry because he lied to me and continued to manipulate me after I left him. I feel … violated.”

“Violated?” Data’s expression turned to dismay.

Juliana glanced from T’Mera to Data, “How exactly did he keep me from finding out what I am?”

Comprehension dawned in Data’s yellow eyes. After a second of hesitation, Data replied, “He… altered your memories and programmed you to shut down if the truth of your nature were discovered. You have also been programmed to age in accordance to time passage and then to…” Data paused, let out a soft sigh, then continued, “To terminate at what would be the natural conclusion of a human existence.”

More tears welled up in Juliana’s eyes, “I’ve been transferred and tampered with. How can I trust that anything I know is real? How do I know that anything I’ve done was of my own choosing and not something that he programmed me to do?”

“I understand now.” Data lowered his gaze, “He broke any trust you had. I have broken it, as well.”

“You, Data?” Juliana placed the fingertips of her right hand under Data’s chin, lifting his face to gain eye contact, “How?”

Data’s eyes briefly met hers, then averted, “Father left a holographic message inside one of your ports. He implored me to continue the deception, as he felt that it would preclude your happiness to learn that you died and had been transferred into an android form.”

Juliana searched Data’s face, “You believed him?”

Data let out another sigh, “At the time, I thought I was choosing the course of action most beneficial to you. I did not realize that I had assigned my own preferences to the situation. I decided that you would rather have the illusion of being human, because becoming more human was my wish.”

“What made you decide to tell me, this time?” The quiver in Juliana’s voice diminished as she focused on Data.

“It was pointed out to me that “being more human” would not necessarily be a goal of yours, especially given that the alternative choice had been death.” As Data spoke, a soft smile began to form on his face, “B-4 subsequently recommended a course of action in which we should ask you for your preferences, rather than continue to make choices without your input. T’Mera has restored your memories and removed Doctor Soong’s compulsory programming from your matrix. We do have the ability to remove the knowledge of your synthetic nature and reset you, so that you can continue to believe you are still human, if that is your wish.”

T’Mera nodded to Data’s words, “I apologize that I was in there, adjusting you, as well, but if I didn’t do that, you’d keep shutting down or having memory lapses. Eventually, it was going to be impossible for you to function. I felt it was illogical to continue to let you live a lie.”

Juliana fixed her gaze on T’Mera, “You were in my mind, tinkering? How can I know if anything I remember is real. I feel as if my life has been turned inside-out. I suppose I have no choice but to trust you, but…”

T’Mera pressed her lips together, “I wish there had been a way to ask you for permission, but because of how you were programmed, you would have shut down before you could give consent. I can understand if you don’t trust me.”

“There are three fine counselors on board the Enterprise, Mother.” Data spoke in a near hush, “Perhaps it would help you to avail yourself of their skills.”

“We’ll see. I’m just overwhelmed right now.” Juliana lowered her face into her hands, “How could Noonian let me live a lie? I got remarried. I continued my career. Pran never knew.”

Lore emerged from behind the punching bag and moved to stand next to B-4. “Father lied to you all the time. That was his pattern. Whenever Often Wrong had a choice to tell the truth or to lie, he’d choose the falsehood. I’m sure it was just reflex for him.”

A deep frown knitted Juliana’s eyebrows and she looked up sharply, “He summoned me back to Terlina, a few years after I left. I can remember that, now.”

“He built an encoded homing circuit into your sublogic controller.” T’Mera snapped the gum in her mouth as she explained, “Now, the hardware can’t be removed, since it’s an integrated component, but I was a smart-ass and rewrote his program so that if… anyone tries to hijack you, it’ll give you their location and all the homing information, but not override your consciousness. If you don’t even want that in there, I can go back in and totally disable the program.”

Juliana waved her hand dismissively at T’Mera, “I need time to mentally digest all of this. I thought I was losing my mind.”

B-4 pointed to Juliana’s head, “No, it’s still there, on top of your neck.”

Lore focused an intense glare at the prototype, “What an astute observation, Basic. I guess it’s something you don’t need to worry about. You’ve got to have a mind, before you can lose it.”

B-4 shrugged at Lore, “At least my sense of humor makes sense.”

Data’s eyebrows knit in stern disapproval, “Would the two of you be kind enough to refrain from petty bickering while our mother is suffering a crisis of the spirit?”

B-4 hung his head in contrition, “I’m sorry, Data. I’m sorry… Mother.”

“I…” Lore began to speak, then gritted his teeth and narrowed his eyes, “I don’t know how to apologize. I don’t even know if I can apologize for everything I’ve done.” He turned his back to the others and walked away to lean against his punching bag.

Juliana beckoned B-4 with her hand, “You’re B-4? Do you have any idea who I am? Do you remember me, at all?”

B-4 knelt next to Data, in front of Juliana, “I know that you are Doctor Juliana Tainer, and that you worked with Doctor Soong to make us, but I have no memories of him, you, or anything that happened before Data found me.”

Juliana reached out and placed a hand on B-4’s cheek, “Maybe that’s for the best, considering how your first months were. The previous two prototypes seemed to work fine, but after a few months, they became erratic and had cascade failures. With you, I knew something was different at your first activation. Your motor skills were fine, but you were more childlike in your interactions. After a week, you suddenly shut down. I thought we’d lost you, but Noonian was able to get your pathways to reinitialize. No matter what he did, you kept shutting down around seven days after you’d been reactivated. It was terribly painful for me to watch, but he said that he’d figured out what went wrong with the design and that, this time, he would be able to make a stable matrix.”

Lore’s yellow eyes flashed with anger, “If Often Wrong figured out what the trouble was, why didn’t he fix B-4?”

“Distraction.” Juliana caressed B-4’s cheek, then brushed some loose strands of his brown hair behind his ear, “It was just after we dismantled B-4 and put him in storage, I believe, that Ira Graves came to the colony. Noonian was very interested in his synaptic scan research and spent quite a lot of time with him. After Graves left, Noonian claimed that he’d managed to get newer components and he wanted to build a more advanced android and use the synaptic scans he and Graves had worked with.” She sought out B-4’s innocent eyes, “I hope you can forgive us for that.”

B-4 smiled back in response, “Of course.”

Lore smacked the punching bag with his left fist, “He never planned to get back to B-4, did he?”

Juliana shook her head and let her hand drop, “I honestly don’t know, Lore. If he did, he never mentioned it to me.”

“Of course not.” Lore stomped as he circled around the bag, “B-4 had served his purpose, just like I did. It was probably “too late” for B-4, just like it was “too late for Lore.” Do you still defend him? Does love still blind you to the things he’s done?”

“No, Lore.” Juliana’s eyes lowered, “Even when you love someone, there comes a breaking point. When all the bad outweighs the good.” Her voice faded to an embittered whisper, “Now I don’t even know who I am. If Juliana Soong died on Terlina III, what am I? A copy? A delusional android?” She gazed up at T’Mera, “Was it like this for you?”

T’Mera bit her bottom lip, “No. I was awake during my transfer, and I’d already agreed to everything. My mind was directly transferred, with no alterations. I did have adjustments to make, due to some of Data’s enhancements to my android body, but my katra is the same as it was before I died. Do you feel as if you’re you?”

“I think so.” Juliana frowned, “I just need time to adjust to this. To figure out what I’m feeling.”

T’Mera nodded, then offered, “Just take it slow. I did my best to restore your full recollections, but they might come back in bits and pieces.”

Data followed Lore’s circular pacing with his eyes, “You are the only one who would remember Mother prior to her death. Does she seem to be the same as she was?”

Lore halted his momentum and punched the bag next to him, “She seems like herself, but what difference does it make? Don’t humans change over time? Hasn’t she now spent more years as an android than she did as a biological lifeform?”

Data’s eyebrows rose and he emitted a high-pitched, “Hmm.” then nodded at his brother, “I see your point.” He returned his attention to Juliana, “Please accept my sincerest apology for not informing you when the opportunity first arose.”

“Oh, Data.” Juliana’s lips upturned in a small, sad smile, “Maybe this is better. If you’d told me back then, I would have had to deal with telling Pran.” She glanced at B-4, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry, as well. I’m sorry that it didn’t occur to me that B-4 could be saved.” She lowered her gaze to the floor again, “And the guilt over Lore and everything that happened afterward. If I’d been strong enough… if I’d insisted that Noonian fix you, Lore…”

B-4 reached into his pocket, pulling out his hat. “The word ‘if’ has only two letters. It’s such a small word, yet it holds so much upon it. Every ‘if’ denotes a varying consequence or set of results.”

Lore leaned against the punching bag and smirked in a lopsided manner, “Another philosophical interlude, brought to us by B-4.” He threw his hands in the air, “ _If_ Mother had insisted, _if_ I’d had a working ethical subroutine, _if_ Data had never reassembled me when he first found me, _if_ I’d never stolen the emotion chip… You’re right, B-4. That’s a lot of weight for the word ‘if’ to hold.”

B-4 pulled the hat over his hair, then got to his feet, “See, Lore? Sometimes the philosophical interlude is needed. Trust your older brother.”

Lore snorted derisively, “Older? You’ve had less than two years uptime. I’m the first one that functioned. I should be considered the oldest.”

Data held up his right hand with the index finger extended, “I have the most uptime, by a substantial amount.”

“All right, Lore.” B-4 folded his arms across his chest, “If you want it to be by function, then we can do that. I just thought it’s funnier if Data is the baby of the family, and he can only be that if we use creation times.”

“You’re right.” Lore relented, “Creation order, it is.”

B-4 tilted his head to regard Juliana, “I don’t want to leave you if you need me, but my internal chronometer tells me it’s time to go back to the office. If I’m not there, Emily might worry.”

“That’s fine, B-4.” Juliana smiled up at the prototype. “I’m so thankful to see you’re functioning and stable.”

T’Mera smiled at B-4, “Thank you for coming to help.”

Data rose to his feet to give B-4 a pat on the shoulder, “It is always good to see you. Give our regards to Doctor Vanzanen and Doctor Maddox.”

“Until we meet again, brother.” Lore waved from the punching bag.

“Goodbye. B-4 out.” B-4 reached in front of him, then his holographic image vanished.

Juliana blinked and sat upright, “He wasn’t really here? But I touched him…”

“I’ve been working on long-distance tactile protocols for holocommunicators.” T’Mera explained as she moved to her workstation, “And someone figured out how to engage them and even enabled event logging and debugging for me.”

“You’re welcome.” Lore stuck his tongue into his right cheek.

Juliana wiped away the remaining wetness from her face, “How long have I been here? It just occurred to me that I was helping Director Kim before all of this.”

“Including the time you spent unconscious, the total elapsed duration is ten hours, fifty-four minutes and thirty-two seconds.” Data extended a hand to her.

“I can’t sit here all day!” Juliana grasped Data’s hand and stood up, “I should go back to the surface and help her. Plus, working always helped me through rough times.”

“As you wish, but you really should consider resting, rather than working.” Data released her hand, “I am certain that Director Kim would understand, and that there is no real hurry for the geological information. In any case, do not hesitate to call upon me or the ship’s counselors, if you find yourself in need.”

“I know that I have a habit of running away, but I think I’d like the distraction that work will give me, Data, at least for now.” Juliana started to walk, stopped, then turned to address T’Mera, “And thank you for restoring my children. I know I snapped at you before and questioned whether I can trust you, but… I haven’t lost sight of what you’ve given me back.” With a wistful smile, she resumed walking past the table and security guard and then exited to the corridor.

Data cocked his head as he watched Doctor Tainer leave, “She seemed to take that well.”

“Too well, if you ask me.” T’Mera bit her lower lip. “It might come crashing down on her, in a quiet moment of solitude.”

Lore placed his back against the punching bag and rested the sole of his right foot against it. “Maybe, but sometimes the quiet moment of solitude brings clarity.”


	39. Lost and Found

**Stardate: 41243.1**

Involuntary solitude. Beamed out into space.

At first, Lore watched in dismay as the Crystalline Entity deserted him and flew off. Moments later, the Enterprise engaged their warp engines and vanished, leaving him alone in the dark vacuum. A familiar rush of rage accompanied the panic of abandonment. After a few hours, the diagnostic warnings began; If he didn't start to regulate his biofunctions, Lore would soon overheat and make Data's wish of being an only child come true. He had no way to achieve natural convection in space and Soong hadn't incorporated a radiant heat pipe into his design, which left Lore only one option.

Lore initiated the shutdown of nonessential functions, including his respiratory system, which was rendered useless without air. Maintaining thermal control without heat buildup presented the first challenge. He ran a full self-diagnostic, with attention to his circulatory and hydraulic systems, to discern whether his biolubricants would evaporate in the vacuum. If the answer returned positive, then outgassing would be the second challenge to overcome. The finished diagnostic returned a negative; Lore wouldn't have to worry about outgassing as long as he didn't initiate any evaporative functions. Amusement slashed through the anger as Lore realized he still held the phaser in his right hand.

_**I suppose if it all gets to be too much, I could always shoot myself.** _

The final seconds of output from the phaser had given Lore just enough momentum for a slow rotation, but no actual propulsion. That was most likely for the best, since all that would do is increase his chances of being sucked into the gravity of some celestial body. He resigned himself to his fate and watched the starfield while his internal chronometer ticked off the nanoseconds. With the passage of time, rage transmuted to sadness, and then eventually turned to narcosis and finally, to an oddly peaceful state. Months crawled by and Lore decided to replay his memories to keep himself entertained. He reran nearly a year's worth of memories before a shutdown interrupted Lore's reminiscing.

_(Startup diagnostic complete: rerouting micro-hydraulic power distribution: engaging primary protocols)_

_**Son of a bitch.** _

Lore frowned as his internal chronometer confirmed the shutdown and reboot of his systems. A level three self-diagnostic turned up traces of charge buildup in his bioplast, especially on his face, neck and hands. His internal record indicated the cause of the shutdown; A thirty thousand volt arc from the discharge of static electric charge buildup in the insulated polymers of his body.

_(Internal error: Primary protocols failure: engaging secondary protocols: secondary protocols active.)_

Lore returned to the chronological evaluation of his memory files, now that the crisis seemed to be over. Without the constant natter of biological lifeforms, he could concentrate and examine each recollection. The reboot managed to prune some erroneous pathways, allowing him to consolidate his thoughts and feelings. More months passed and Lore gave up any hope that Data would return for him. In a moment of despair, he lifted his hands to his face and closed his eyes.

"Lore? Are you coming inside?"

Lore opened his eyes and lowered his hands. He stood at the threshold of Data's quarters on the Enterprise-D, while Data beckoned him inside. Lore took a moment to examine Data's quarters this time. There were a couple of small shelves, a large desk and computer area with a comfortable, high-back chair and a full length mirror, but aside from that, nothing else. "How would the humans describe this? Spartan?"

"That would be an applicable term to describe my quarters." Data cocked his head as he regarded Lore, "I have no need for places to eat or sleep. Do you?"

Lore rolled his eyes at his brother, "Do I appear that weak?"

"No, brother." Data took a seat at his desk. "However, since Doctor Soong designed you to be so completely human, I considered the possibility that you shared their requirements."

Lore wandered to the mirror and smiled at his reflection, "No. Thankfully, he spared me that." He turned to face Data. "I'm surprised you came back for me. I thought you left me for dead."

"Dead?" Doctor Soong's voice reverberated off the plain walls. "You mean like you left me and all the colonists for dead? Oh, except, in your case, you really did kill everyone."

Lore spun in the direction of the voice. Data's quarters had somehow transformed into the cybernetics lab on Omicron Theta. "Father? How can you be here? How can I be back? What's happening?"

"I don't know, Lore." Doctor Soong walked past the blue chair with a youthful stride. A smile spread across his face, creating the bare beginnings of laugh lines around his blue eyes. Soong's light umber hair showed no signs of grey. "What is happening?"

Anger began to creep back into Lore's voice, "You weren't this young when you constructed me. I didn't travel back in time, so the only thing that makes sense is…"

"Go on…" Soong prompted patiently.

"I'm…" Lore paused in the middle of his reply. "Hallucinating? Is this what a dream is?"

Soong reached out a hand to touches Lore's face. "I'm proud of you, son. I wasn't sure you'd ever develop the cognitive abilities to make it this far…" A placid grin graced his lips. "If you're here and you can see me... it means you've crossed the threshold from being a collection of circuits and subprocessors... and have started a wonderful journey."

"Journey?" Lore snorted derisively, "I'm drifting in space. I'm going nowhere."

"You're being too literal, Lore." Doctor Soong moved away, throwing his arms out to his sides in a grand, sweeping gesture, "Think of it as an empty sky. Endless possibilities." He glided back to Lore, standing right in front of him. "A journey into self."

Lore withdrew from Soong, "How do I do that? How do I journey?" He heard the loud flapping of avian wings, followed by the bird's call, but he couldn't see where it was coming from.

' _Krrrruk! Toc toc!'_

"Shhh... just dream, Lore… dream…" Soong waved his hand over Lore's eyes, shutting them. "You are the bird."

Aloft on thermals, with the farm fields below him, Lore soared over the colony on Omicron Theta. A moment later, he stood on the firm ground, looking up at the raven perched on a tree branch. The touch of a soft, warm hand to his startled him, but he instantly knew to whom the hand belonged.

"Ohey, Lore."

Lore smiled as he inhaled her scent and met her dark eyes, "I thought I was alone."

"I'll always be with you, Lore." Evelynn reached out with her arms to embrace him.

_(Startup diagnostic complete: rerouting micro-hydraulic power distribution: engaging primary protocols)_

Anger coursed through Lore as Evelynn and Omicron Theta vanished due to the reboot, replaced once again by the slowly rotating starfield. A bit of condensation built up over his eyes, clouding his vision. A quick self-diagnostic reported another static charge buildup and resulting electrical arc, followed by a sharp drop in synaptic energy. Lore should have been entirely unconscious, but found the memory record for the hallucination. A search of his most recent active subroutines brought up one he hadn't seen listed before; A dream program, in the subdirectory of one of his base programs, which had been accidentally triggered by the shock.

_(Internal error: Primary protocols failure: engaging secondary protocols: secondary protocols active.)_

Lore shut down most of his servos and actuators in an attempt to remain motionless. Each of the static buildups had been preceded by movement on his part. He resumed the playback of memories, but his mind drifted back to the idea of dreaming. Given Soong's age in the dream, Lore presumed that the program had been written before Often Wrong had set foot on Omicron Theta. Under normal circumstances, Lore might have mocked the cyberneticist for incorporating a dream program into androids who don't sleep, but the current situation was anything but normal.

_**Data left me floating like debris. I might never be found. Hallucinating might be the only way to come out of this with my neural net intact. Initiating dream program.** _

The fields of the Omicron Theta colony flashed beneath Lore as he flew through the air. Every now and then, he felt a warmth wash over him, and he'd soar on thermals until they cooled and he needed to flap his wings again. When he looked down, Lore watched the fields ignite. Flames licked at the tips of his wings, threatening to engulf him. The whole colony was inundated; He began to tire and saw nowhere to land. Lore cried out in anguish but the sound that emerged from his throat resembled a raven's call. The communication array tower rose high above the flames and Lore landed on the observation platform.

"Ohey, Lore." A soft, feminine voice came from behind him.

Lore spun to face the one who had spoken. "Evelynn. I killed you."

"I'm still inside you," Evelynn rushed to embrace Lore. "Always with you."

Periodic reboots interrupted, but Lore kept the dream program active, even as it caused him to become lucid throughout the illusions and hallucinations. Most often, Lore returned to the fire and ash. Sometimes, he and Evelynn enjoyed each other's company. Other times, he dreamed of Data, including a one-on-one parrises squares match between them. As more months passed, the dreams varied beyond what Lore had experienced and transformed into fantasies.

Lore sat at the helm of the Enterprise, while Data sat at ops, and the rest of the bridge crew smiled at the android brothers.

"Captain, I'm picking up a bogey at a twelve o'clock tangent!" Geordi announced, after one of the alarms on his console sounded.

Picard leaned forward in his chair and scowled at La Forge, "What the hell does that even mean?"

"Sorry, sir." Geordi corrected, "Unidentified vessel approaching dead ahead."

Riker immediately responded, "Shields up, yellow alert."

The tall blond security woman spoke up from the tactical console, "Shields are up, Commander. We're being scanned. I can't hail them."

"On screen." Picard ordered and stood up from his chair to stand between ops and helm. "Data?"

A small, triangular vessel appeared on the large viewscreen as Data answered, "Basic, early design. Definitely capable of sub-light speed. However, notice the odd configuration on the sides, as if warp nacelles have been added. I am detecting no warp signatures, so their core may either be offline or inoperative."

A beam of light surrounded Lore at the helm and he felt himself being pulled out of the seat and up through the transparent area in the ceiling of the bridge. He reached out a hand for Data, but it was too late. A tractor beam firmly held Lore and pulled him towards an open hatch in the side of the unidentified ship.

Once the tractor beam moved him inside the cargo bay opening, it disengaged and the airlock sealed. Red lighting changed to green as soon as atmosphere was reestablished and Lore dropped to the deck with a loud clang. Several small sparks shot from the floor to his body, accompanied by audible zaps. Three humanoid figures approached him, but Lore remained still. As the figures came closer and the fog dissipated from his eyes, Lore could see them in greater detail. The beings averaged 1.9 meters in height, exhibited wavy ridges around their eyes, a dewlap lower lip, vertical eyebrows, prominent foreheads, swept-back hair and rotund physiques. They gathered around and stared down at him.

One of the beings crouched beside Lore and declared, "It is a human."

"His eyes are yellow." A second one pointed to Lore's eyes.

"Yellow eyes are not human." The first one replied with a shake of their head.

A query to Lore's internal chronometer returned the Stardate as 43132.9., and also showed that the dream program terminated just before the tractor beam pulled him into the ship. He had spent one year, ten months and twenty-four days floating in space. With that established, Lore turned his attention back to the beings standing over him. Their voices and appearances seemed male, but he couldn't be certain. A search of his informational database came up empty for whichever race owned this ship.

A third being waved a scanning device over Lore's body. "He is metal and plastic."

"Humans are not metal." The second being shook his head with a slight tilt.

"He is Starfleet." The first one ran their hands over Lore's clothing, then recoiled as a static shock came out from Lore's skin.

"That is not the right clothing." The second one pointed to Lore's neck. "No collar."

The one with the primitive tricorder finished the scan. "He was in space. He is dead."

"He is not dead. His eyes are moving." The first one was now staring directly at Lore's face.

"Humans can't be alive in space." The second one gave a shake of the head. "I think he is fake. It is a fake human."

Lore enabled his respiratory and circulatory systems. "Android, you dolt."

"He is talking." The first one announced.

"I do not think he is dead." The second one tilted their head and addressed Lore directly, "You are not dead."

Lore stared up at the being, "I know I'm not dead. Who are you?"

"We are Pakleds. We are far from home." As the second being replied, the other ones nodded to each other.

Lore sat up, "Thank you for rescuing me. What do you want?"

"We are far from home." The first being got to their feet.

Lore sighed and stood. "I understood that the first time."

"Can you make us strong?" The second one moved closer to Lore.

Now that he stood upright, Lore could see small phasers on each of the beings' belts. "You want me to make you strong?"

"We are Pakleds. We look for things. Things to make us go. Things to make us strong. Things to trade." The second one replied to Lore. "We need you."

Lore blinked, momentarily taken aback. "... You do?"

"Are you smart?" The one with the scanning device moved closer.

Lore grinned back at the Pakleds, "Well, yes. I'm brilliant, actually. Far superior in intellect to organic lifeforms."

"We need you to make us strong. To make us go." The first one nodded and looked to the third one.

"We like power." The second Pakled drew the small phaser and aimed it at Lore. "Do not try to trick us. We can tell."

Outrage coursed through Lore and he reacted with superhuman speed as he snatched the phaser out of the Pakled's hand. "Give me that!"

"He is violent!" The first Pakled moved back one step.

"Don't shoot!" The second Pakled held their hands up.

"Don't shoot? You idiot!" Lore shouted at the Pakleds, "Don't you dare point a weapon at me! I've met some dumb organics in my life, but you take the cake. Now, get over there!"

The Pakleds backed up into the corner, forming a huddle.

"You are not the Starfleet android." The second Pakled scowled at Lore.

Lore returned the accusation with a broad, maniacal grin, "No, I'm not. You may call me Lore."

"That is Starfleet clothing." The Pakled with the scanner pointed at Lore.

Lore looked down at himself, "I need to rectify that. Do you have spare clothing?"

"Yes. We will give you one of ours." The second Pakled replied, "If you will stay. If you can make us go."

"Will you stay?" The first Pakled tilted his head inquisitively.

Lore mused over the question, "I've got nowhere else to go. I might as well stay with this ship." He lowered the phaser, then handed it back to the second Pakled.

"Lore is one of us. He will stay. He will make us go." The second Pakled smiled and nodded his head at the others. "We are a force, now. We will have respect… power."

Lore regarded the three beings in front of him. "Respect and power. I can get behind that."

"Good." The second Pakled grinned, "You are on our side, now. I am Reekod. Our ship is the Nimos."

The one with the scanner gave a brief dip of his head to the other two Pakleds as they separated and went down a different corridor. He turned back to Lore, "I am Strebornog. Come with me."

Lore followed the large Pakled, "Where are they going?"

Strebornog replied, "Reekod and Enarbos go to the bridge. That is their place. I will get you clothes and we will make things go." He entered a small side room, waited for Lore to come in, and then opened the door to a closet.

Lore watched the Pakled's face for any sign of fear or revulsion, but saw none. Instead, Strebornog gathered layers of thick, brown quilted clothing and handed them to the android. Lore unzipped the Starfleet uniform, let it fall to the floor and stepped out of it. He took the offered suit and dressed himself.

Strebornog's eyes lit with amusement. "We are big. You are not big."

"You might say that." Lore took a moment to analyze the vest hanging loosely from his frame, folded the excess cloth over itself then looped the belt tight to hold it in place. The upper part of the fold flopped down to make a huge lapel over the right side of his chest. Most of the fabric draped over his arms and legs, but Lore did his best to make it fit and finished by putting on the brown boots.

"You look good." Strebornog nodded emphatically, "Now you are one of us."

The words, so simply spoken, settled Lore's mood. He followed Strebornog to one of the cargo holds and fished through the abundant piles of scavenged ship parts. It soon became clear to Lore that the Pakleds wanted to build a working warp engine, and he applied himself to the task. As he worked, other Pakleds joined to help and he noticed that they tended to make head-based gestures at each other, or nearly imperceptible movements of their lips or their thick eyebrows.

Lore began to suspect that the Pakleds were communicating through nonverbal methods and using simple spoken language as a supplement or for his benefit. He noticed that when speaking to him, their movements were more focused and stiff, as if they were attempting to mimic human body language. When Lore shut down his nuanced mannerisms and facial subroutines, the Pakleds working with him seemed to become agitated. Strebornog's eyebrows twitched and the other two, Retsnef and Retsnok, twitched back, moved their jaws and added a few head shakes. Lore resumed his typical body behavior and the Pakleds relaxed.

The knowledge Lore had gleaned from his use of the Enterprise computer came in handy for turning the Nimos into a warp-capable ship. He worked without resting, creating the warp core, intermix chambers, plasma conduits, and the containment for matter and antimatter. Despite their seemingly slow nature, the Pakleds kept up with Lore on an engineering level, and Lore found the Pakleds to be pleasant company. They didn't fear him or mock his non-biological origin; They acknowledged his talents and rewarded him for his efforts.

"Lore?" Captain Reekod entered the engineering deck.

Lore looked up from the injector coils he had been assembling. "Yes, Captain?"

"We are stopping at our planet, Kalla III." Reekod's bottom lip twitched twice. "You are strong and fast. Can you help to mine the magnesite?"

Lore nodded, then added a twitch of his own lower lip, "I can do that. We need magnesite for the warp engine, anyway."

Reekod smiled at the android, "We will need extra, for the Yridian."

"Yridian?" Lore's left eyebrow shot up. "Why?"

Reekod inclined his head very slightly, "We are traders. We trade what we have for what we need. We need antimatter to make us go. A Yridian is coming with antimatter. He needs magnesite."

Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek briefly, then nodded, "That's a good idea. The Yridian won't ask any questions, they'll just trade."

"Thank you, Lore." Reekod replied as he moved to leave. "You are smart."

A contented smile spread along Lore's lips and he turned back to his work on the ship's engine.

"Computer, end playback. Bring up the lights." Captain Louvois' voice cut through the peace of the Pakled engineering station. The image of Lore's contented smile faded into darkness and the holodeck returned to its normal lighting.

* * *

**Stardate: 58545.0**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

Lore glanced at each person seated at the curved table. To his right, Counselor Veluna simply gazed back at him, as if searching his face for reaction. He threw her a quick half-smile, then looked past Louvois to Captain Picard and Doctor Crusher. While Picard wore a stoic expression, Crusher's eyebrows knit together in contemplation. Finally, Lore turned his attention to his brother.

Data's golden eyes met Lore's stare as he spoke in a whisper of disbelief, "I had assumed that you had killed the Pakleds who discovered you in space."

The defiant smirk returned to Lore's lips, "Now why would I do that? Why would I keep wearing their outfit if I'd killed them all?"

Data pressed his lips together and averted his eyes, "I did not think much about it."

Captain Louvois rested her arms on the table in front of her, "You remained with the Pakleds, then? For how long?"

Lore leaned back against his chair, "I stayed with them as an engineer for just over two years. I upgraded their systems to give them warp drive, transporters, better shields and decent weapon systems."

Louvois nodded to that, "And the incident that brought you and Data to Terlina III?"

Lore pressed his lips into a thin, pale line, "That happened almost a year after the Pakleds found me. The emotion chip's effect was gradual, but I started to become restless. I felt like I needed to create more artificial lifeforms and to reunite with my brother."

"Why did you leave the Pakleds?" Louvois prompted.

Lore gave a quick look at Veluna, then answered, "We were on our way to Deep Space Nine, when sensors detected what we thought was the wreckage of a ship. The Pakleds intended to scavenge, until we beamed down and saw that it was a Borg ship. The Pakleds were frightened and decided to leave immediately. I said my goodbyes to them and remained there with the Borg. They were lost, disoriented, disorganized… dying. That was when I realized I might be able to turn the Borg into fully artificial lifeforms."

Louvois glanced at the PADD by her hands, "It was then that you decided to lead those Borg?"

"Yes." Lore nodded to the Captain, "They needed someone who could help them. Fixing their vessel was easy enough. Once I learned how their transwarp conduits operated, I was able to locate a suitable planet as our base of operations. As their leader, I taught them how to work together, efficiently. How to coordinate, yet keep their individuality and passion."

"And the attacking of the Federation outposts near the quadrant borders?" Louvois regarded Lore as if studying him.

Lore gritted his teeth for a moment, "I still had an intense compulsion to get Data to join me. Once we pinpointed the location of the Enterprise, I had the Borg attack nearby outposts. I gave Crosis the mission of being taken captive and then transmitting emotion to Data, to entice him to return to me. The plan worked."

"The rest of the matter is on record." Captain Louvois pressed the touchscreen of the PADD. "Do you have anything to add to your deposition that Captain Picard and Commander Data wouldn't have logged?"

Lore let out a long exhale, "No. Everything in their reports is accurate."

Louvois placed the PADD in her bag, "The hearing is concluded, then. Once deliberations are over, I'll inform you about whether or not your case will go to trial. The board of inquiry is dismissed." She turned to address T'Mera, "Doctor Chipman, you may proceed with the repairs to Lore's systems at your earliest convenience."

T'Mera dipped her head to Louvois, "Yes, your honor."

Lore watched silently as everyone filed out of the holodeck, leaving just T'Mera, himself and Lieutenant D'Sora. He remained seated as he rolled his chair over to T'Mera's workstation. Behind him, the curved table vanished.

"Are you ready, Lore?" T'Mera reached for the optical cable on her desk.

Lore replied in an unequivocal manner, "Ready as I'll ever be."


	40. Patching

**Stardate: 58545.1**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Ensign Murphy showed up to relieve Lieutenant D’Sora and stood at attention near the holographic Vulcan security guards. “Hello, Doctor Chipman. Lore.” They glanced around at the holobrig, “The big table’s gone.”

T’Mera looked up from her position behind Lore’s chair, “Hello, Ensign Murphy. Yes, we don’t need it at this point. The board of inquiry is over, and now the holodeck is back to being used for confinement and repair.” 

Lore grumbled as he waited for T’Mera to finish connecting the optical cable to the port in the side of his head, “This is it? I would have thought I’d draw a bigger audience.” The joyless, toothy grin spread across his lips, “Come one, come all, come see the android get his comeuppance. Watch him undergo a painful transformation into a good, little android.”

“I don’t think anyone wants to see you suffer.” T’Mera attached the cable, then opened Lore’s auxiliary port, “Counselor Veluna will be here to help you, once she’s finished with her ship duties. I’m going to start by installing the amygdala code. It’s going to be set for the lowest gain.” Her fingers flew over the touch console for a minute. “How is that?”

Lore blinked a few times in rapid succession, “Interesting. I almost feel…” He paused, as if searching for the proper term, “Muted. My emotions aren’t as sudden and sharp. It’s like they’re being sent to me from across a distance.”

“Good.” T’Mera tapped another set of commands. “Why don’t you keep it on that setting until we’re sure you’re stable. Next up is the intrusion detection system. I’ll install that, and we’ll do a brief test.”

Lore canted his head to the side, “My self-diagnostic just alerted me to an access request directed to my memory engrams, unknown source. Is that you?”

T’Mera gave Lore a quick nod, “That’s me. It works. It should give you the option to allow or deny?”

“Yes, it does.” Lore stuck his tongue in his cheek. “I see where I can choose to mark a source as trusted or something to block.” The whooshing sound of the holodeck doors drew his attention. “That might be Veluna.” He began to stand as he saw Lynn step through the entrance arch, instead of the anticipated counselor.

“Gah, Lore.” T’Mera grabbed the auxiliary cable before it snagged on the back of Lore’s chair, “No sudden moves. Do I have to immobilize you?”

Lynn waved to everyone as she passed Ensign Murphy, “Ohey. Is Lore misbehaving?”

“Always.” Lore answered with a grin, “I didn’t expect to see you here for this. Watching me get reprogrammed might be boring.”

Lynn walked over to the chaise near Lore, then sat down. “I’m here to lend emotional support. Like I said, I owe you that much.” She clasped her hands together in anticipation before turning her attention to T’Mera. “So. You’re the famous Doctor Chipman.”

T’Mera raised an eyebrow, “I suppose I could be described that way. It’s a pleasure to meet you in person, Ms. Darnell.” She threw a stern gaze at Lore, “Very funny. You have to allow me access, so I can do the rest of the repairs.”

Lore’s broad smirk faded to a slight smile, “Just seeing if you were paying attention. There. You’re trusted, now.” He started to move as the holodeck doors opened once more, but caught himself in time. “I know, I know… I need to hold still.”

“I think I should immobilize you, Lore.” T’Mera reached for a small screwdriver, “That way, no accidents will happen. Hello, Counselor.”

Veluna joined the others near the chaise and workstation, “Hello, T’Mera, Lore and…” She held out her right hand to Lynn, “Ms. Darnell? It’s nice to meet you.”

Lynn smiled as she shook the counselor’s hand, “Likewise.” 

Veluna sat in the chair that appeared next to her, “I realize it must be awkward for you, having so many people you’ve never met act as if they already know you.”

“A little.” Lynn released Veluna’s hand, “Everything you saw was so long ago. It’s not as bad as it would be if I were still a teenager and everyone had seen what Lore and I did together.”

Lore leaned away from T’Mera, “I don’t want to be immobilized.” 

T’Mera let out a sigh and returned the screwdriver to the desk surface, “Then stay put. I’m going to install the self-correcting mechanism and delete the old, buggy one.”

Lynn wrapped her arm around Lore’s back and rested a hand on his left shoulder, “I’ll hold him.” She turned her head to gaze at Lore’s face.

Lore met Lynn’s eyes and his petulant scowl vanished. “At this close range, I can see your apertures.”

Lynn chuckled softly, “I didn’t think you’d noticed my optical implants.”

Both of Lore’s eyebrows rose as his mouth formed his usual toothy grin, “I don’t want to offend you, but they’re very noticeable. I think even a human would have spotted them. Why that color and not dark brown?”

Lynn leaned to whisper in Lore’s right ear, “I wanted them to match the axinite in my bracelet. The stone that you said was a combination of our eyes.”

“Human memories are supposed to fade with the passage of time.” Lore responded in an equally soft voice, “I’m surprised you didn’t forget me.”

“I named my firstborn child Laura, after you.” Lynn pressed her lips to Lore’s cheek.

Lore’s eyes widened and for a moment, his face seemed to glow with contentment.

“Lore…” T’Mera broke the silence, “I hate to dampen your mood, but can you access your base operating programs and search through the sexuality subroutines for instruction six-nine-five-seven-two-one-zero. That should contain a seven part conditional check and an event trigger override. I want you to delete that. I don't know what Soong called it, but I call it "Momentary Lapse of Reason." You don't need it." 

Lore nodded to T’Mera, “Done. You didn’t want to delete it yourself?”

T’Mera tapped on her console, “No. I wanted test the self-correcting mechanism I just installed. One of the few differences in physical construction between you and Data is that your phase discriminator is Type L. I want to make sure it works as it should, since it’s part of your positronic decompiler.”

“It seems to work fine.” Lore began to lean towards the workstation, but Lynn’s hand pressed against him and he halted his movement. 

“Excellent. One less thing to worry about during the hardware segment.” T’Mera bit her lower lip as she tapped on the console again, “Now for the big one. I’m installing the ethical and moral subroutines that Data created for himself, and which I later added to B-4.”

Lore snorted, then smirked at Lynn and Veluna, “Well, I guess in a minute, I’ll be a puppet like Data.” 

Veluna reached for Lore’s left hand, “Just remember to take it one thought at a time, like we talked about during our sessions.”

The smirk on Lore’s face faded as his lips pressed into a pale line. As T’Mera removed the optical cable from his auxiliary port and closed the panel, Lore’s lips began a gradual separation until his mouth hung agape. His eyebrows lifted as his yellow eyes widened in horror, while his body began to shake almost imperceptibly. 

“Lore.” Veluna rubbed his hand as she spoke, “One at a time. Don’t remember all of it at once.”

“We’re here for you, Lore.” Lynn squeezed his shoulder. 

Lore flinched at the touch and pulled away from both women. “No, no…” He scrambled to his feet and ran towards the exit, “I can’t stay…” In an instant, both photonic guards grabbed Lore, and he struggled against them. “Let me go!” 

Ensign Murphy joined the fray, wrapping their body around the android, “Lore, stop fighting. You have to stay here.”

“You don’t understand.” Lore clenched his jaw as he strained against the changeling and holograms. “What I’ve done…”

T’Mera grabbed the screwdriver and scrambled to her feet. “I guess we do need to immobilize him.”

Veluna clutched at the sides of her head, “So much sorrow… regret…”

Murphy became a sheath around Lore’s body, leaving just the android’s neck and head exposed. “Don’t fight me. You’ll be all right.”

Lore let out an anguished cry as he ceased fighting. “I don’t see how! Everything about me… my whole existence… is a failure!” He felt his body go limp as T’Mera turned the screwdriver in the small port at the base of his neck. “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?”

“Here we go again with that routine.” T’Mera finished immobilizing Lore, “Why? Because we like you.” She turned to Murphy, “Let’s get him over to the chaise, for now.” She gave a nod of her head to the holographic Vulcan guards, who returned to their posts.

Murphy kept their hold on Lore, then pushed against the floor to glide across the holobrig. “Here we are. A nice comfortable place to lie down.” 

“It was brutal! All those people on the outposts. The way they died… I didn’t even know them… and what I did to Omicron Theta,” Lore protested as Murphy laid him on his back. Unable to move, Lore let out a wail, “I don’t deserve help!”

Lynn scooted over to the edge of the chaise and remained at Lore’s side. “This isn’t about what you deserve. It’s about what you need.” Her voice dropped to a whisper, “It’s about what we owe you; A chance to function properly and live.”

Veluna reached over to touch Lore’s temple with her fingertips, “You’re experiencing so much pain. Let me help.”

Lore’s stared intently at Veluna for a moment. His left eye twitched briefly and his vision seemed to lose focus. His entire face fell slack and devoid of expression.

“What just happened?” Lynn waved her hands in front of Lore’s unresponsive eyes. “What did you do to him?”

Veluna removed her hand from Lore’s temple, “It’s a Deltan technique to ease the suffering of another.”

T’Mera sat down and spun her chair to face the workstation displays. “The synaptic energy in his posterior cortical region just dropped to an extremely low frequency. Cognitive pathway functions are down.”

Lynn frowned at Veluna, “He’s an android. You can’t just go around trying to… well, whatever it was you were trying to do to him with your empathic mind waves.”

“I wasn’t thinking.” Veluna peered at Lore’s face with concern, “His emotions are so much like a human’s that I -”

“Forgot he wasn’t human.” A sad smile formed on Lynn’s lips, “I guess you’re right. Sometimes, it was easy to think of him as just some crazy, yellow-eyed man. I hope he’ll be all right.”

T’Mera tapped her console, “The diagnostic is complete. He’s still got quite a bit of pathway activity in the frontal region,” She pulled one of the smaller displays closer, “And what we would call his subconscious is active. He’s dreaming.” With a smirk, she turned to look at Veluna, “Counselor, I believe you put him to sleep.”

Veluna let out a soft sigh, “I’m glad I didn’t damage his mind.”

T’Mera shook her head, “I don’t think you broke anything, but when he wakes up, I’m going to have to ask him whether he set you as a trusted contact or if I need to work on the security software.”

Lynn moved her fingertips over Lore’s face, closing his eyelids. “That’s better. Now he looks like he’s asleep, instead of dead.”

Murphy shifted back to their usual humanoid appearance, “Since he’s immobilized and sleeping, I think I can safely return to my security post.”

“Thank you, Murphy.” T’Mera gave the ensign a quick smile and nod of her head as the changeling rejoined the two photonic guards. 

“This might be best for him, anyway.” Veluna studied Lore’s placid face. “Dreams might help him deal with his emotions and his newfound morality in a more fluid way. His unconscious mind can guide him through the unfamiliar feelings of sympathy and empathy.”

T’Mera raised her eyebrow and deadpanned, “You just don’t want to admit that you broke the android.”

Lynn stroked Lore’s cheek wistfully, “He was broken long before this.”

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58547.7**

Omicron Theta Terraforming Station

 

Data finished calibrating the main hydraulic monitor station and glanced over to where Doctor Tainer worked on marking the various geological areas on the globe. The air temperature in the crowded and busy lab had risen to nearly thirty-three degrees, and a light sheen of sweat glistened on Juliana’s skin. Data paused for a moment, studying the tiny droplets, and marveling at the fine detail that Doctor Soong had put into creating the android body of his deceased wife. Juliana lifted her head as if sensing the attention and turned to look back at him with an inquisitive gaze.

Data crossed the room to stand next to the geologist, “I apologize for staring. I noticed that you have begun to sweat. If the temperature in the room is becoming uncomfortable, I could alter the thermostat to a more favorable setting.”

“It’s fine, Data.” Juliana replied, then reached up with a hand to wipe her face. She rubbed her thumb across the wetness of the other four fingers and frowned.

Data spoke softly, “There has been a fair amount of time passage. Perhaps we should discuss the pachyderm in our current accommodations.”

A reluctant smile formed on Juliana’s lips, “Oh, Data.” She shook her head, then relented, “I suppose we can talk about it, now that I’m a bit calmer. Let’s go to the commissary.” A chuckle escaped her lips, “Android or not, I feel the need to rest and eat.”

Data moved to follow Juliana out of the lab to the hall, “I envy you for that. While I can enjoy eating and drinking, I will never know the compulsion to do so.”

“Some would call you the fortunate one.” Juliana made her way into the commissary, stopping at the replicator, “Red tea, hot, and one cinnamon roll.” She picked up the cup and plate, then led Data to a table and sat in one of the chairs. “Being hungry or thirsty can be inconvenient.”

Data took the seat across the table, “I understand that. I apologize again for my part in deceiving you about your true nature.”

Juliana took a sip of her tea, then let out a soft exhale, “Noonian always had a way of convincing me that what he wanted made more sense than any of my ideas. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised he could do that to you, too.”

“You are handling this remarkably well, Mother.” Data rested his forearms on the table and interlaced his fingers. “I was told that the truth might be devastating to you.”

Juliana pressed her lips together with an accompanying snort, “I’m not thrilled, but I’m not devastated, Data. If Pran were still alive, it might be different, but what I am affects nothing, right now. There’s no reason for me to change my career, no need to alter what I’m doing. When it comes down to it, I’m still me.” She picked up the cinnamon roll and took a small bite of it, “And I still love sweets.”

“I am… relieved to hear you say that.” Data’s shoulders relaxed from their taut position. “Will you be returning to your home on Atrea IV, after the decision on Lore is reached?”

Juliana shook her head, “No. I’ve decided to remain on Omicron Theta, to help the terraformers. It seems only right, since I’m partially responsible for the condition of the planet.” She took another bite, then placed the bun back on the plate. “How is Lore doing?”

Data frowned and separated his hands. “He has not yet woken. According to T’Mera, he is forming newer pathways while he dreams, although we are not certain why Counselor Veluna’s touch rendered him unconscious. Once he is awake and stable, we can proceed with the repairs to his damaged positronic links. When the repairs are completed, Lore will resume behavioral therapy at whatever location the Rehab Commission chooses.”

As Juliana took a sip of her tea, she studied Data’s face. “I’m surprised you aren’t overseeing the entire repair.”

Data’s dropped his chin forward in an attempt to avoid looking into Juliana’s eyes, “I felt it would be best for Lore if I were not in attendance during the replacement of his subroutines. There is still some animosity between us that could hinder his recovery.”

“What’s bothering you, Data?” Juliana canted her head to get a view of his face, “I can tell that something’s eating at you.”

Data stared at the table, “I am experiencing remorse and regret concerning my past actions where Lore is concerned. As I search through through the chain of events, I am realizing that there were a few opportunities for fixing Lore and, at the time, it did not occur to me take advantage of them. I even tried to ignore Lore’s existence. I never corrected anyone who called me unique, and I had even referred to myself as being alone in the universe as the sole, sentient android. 

    “At the same time that I was fighting for my rights as a sentient being, I chose not to consider the fact that I left my brother floating alone in space. When I saw him alive on Terlina III, I not only did not ask Doctor Soong to repair Lore, but I begged him not to reactivate my brother. When Doctor Soong showed me the emotion chip, I became enticed by it and neglected Lore and everything I had heard in their conversation about Omicron Theta. That was very selfish of me. If I look back, in hindsight, my actions were not that of an emotionless, logical android.

    “Even after I had him disassembled and sent to Galor IV, I left specific instructions that he was never to be reassembled. I did not search for anyone who might have been able to analyze his programs and repair him, nor did I try to attempt it myself.” He leaned forward, elbows on the table, and placed his face in his hands, “No one questioned my actions, and I never gave it a second thought until recently. This makes me feel guilt in a way that I did not anticipate. Not only am I feeling guilty for the way that I discarded Lore and never sought to help him, I am also feeling guilt for not having felt guilty all these years over my behavior.”

“He probably wouldn’t have let you touch his programming.” Juliana offered cautiously. 

Data lifted his head and met Juliana’s eyes, “That may be so, but I never gave him the chance.”   


Juliana reached across the table to take Data’s right hand, “You’re giving him the chance now, and that’s what counts. You’re not alone in your feelings, either. I’ve carried so much guilt over how Lore turned out and all the terrible things that happened because I turned a blind eye. Maybe I should go sit with him. I’d hate to think he’s all alone there.”

“No.” Data’s yellow eyes widened in realization, “He has his friend, Lynn, with him. He has two brothers and even his mother is present. A family. Lore is no longer alone.”


	41. Options

**Stardate: 58549.5**

Enterprise-E VIP Quarters

 

“Computer, mark the time in the log entry and close.” Phillipa Louvois sank back into the maroon chair by the desk in her quarters aboard the Enterprise. She shut her eyes for a moment, then reached for her cup of tea. As she lifted the cup to her lips, the door chime sounded. “Enter!” Louvois called out, then took a quick sip and placed the cup back on the saucer.

Captain Picard entered the room, “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, Phillipa.”

Louvois motioned with her hand towards a chair, “Not at all. Have a seat. In fact, I just finished looking through all my notes on Lore’s case. Would you like anything? Tea, perhaps?”

“Thank you. Don’t get up. I’ll get it, myself.” Picard walked to the replicator, “Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.” He grabbed the cup that materialized and strode back across the room to sit in an armchair. “I can’t imagine this case has been easy on you.”

“No, it hasn’t been.” Louvois swiveled her chair to face him, “Every precedent for this case is awful, going all the way back to Gould versus United Earth and the Acts of Cumberland. I’m afraid B-4 was right, when he said the closest example is the one concerning M-5. We have a history of shutting down artificial intelligence that poses a danger to us, even when it shows signs of sentience. The Federation no longer applies the death penalty to those charged with a crime and rehabilitation is preferred, but does that extend to artificial lifeforms?” She paused for another sip of tea. “My final decision will depend heavily on the interview with Lore, after he’s been fully repaired. Has he regained consciousness?”

Picard shook his head, “No. He’s still asleep, with Ms. Darnell watching over him. T’Mera tells me that Lore’s building the connections that were missing from his positronic matrix, so she’s hesitant to wake him for the next part of the procedure. The moment that his repairs are completed, you will be notified.”

“Good.” Louvois nodded in acknowledgement, then pressed her lips together, “I’m also having trouble trying to find a place for Lore, assuming everything goes well with his repair. I considered the possibility of letting him remain in Ms. Darnell’s custody, but there’s no way I can justify what would amount to giving Lore to the Orions. There’s Doctor Tainer, but I don’t find her to be a viable solution, either.”

Picard frowned and set his cup down, “Won’t he be sent back to Galor IV? That was where he was before all of this started.”

“That was when Lore was in pieces.” Louvois sighed and leaned back in her chair, “Admiral Haftel is worried that Lore could reprogram the other androids and turn them into an army, like he tried to do with the Borg cube he found. Galor IV is a research and education facility, not an android prison. There’s no penal colony in the Federation that would hold Lore if he wanted to leave.”

Picard’s frown deepened, “What about something like what we’re doing here? A holographic prison cell.”

“At some point, Lore will figure a way to break out of it.” Louvois shook her head, “It would also be seen as isolation, which I’m not certain will help him.” She paused to take a sip of tea and studied Picard’s face, “Would you be against having him remain on the Enterprise? I know that it seems odd to want to keep him on the Federation flagship, but there would be many advantages to that arrangement. Lore wouldn’t have to start over with a new counselor, and he’d have access to Doctor Chipman.”

Picard stood and moved to look out the window at the stars. A few moments passed before he spoke, “Before I commit to having Lore on board as a permanent civilian resident, I would want to make certain that Data and T’Mera both agree to it. While it would be Veluna and T’Mera supervising Lore, it could also affect Data as far as his duties to this ship are concerned. Commander Worf has been recalled to Qo'noS, to help the High Council. It’s time for Data to take his place as my Number One, but I don’t want him driven to distraction by his brother.” He hesitated, then turned to face Phillipa, “Will there be any legal repercussions for our past actions against Lore?”

“Only if Lore wishes to press charges.” Louvois answered. “If he does, then another hearing would have to be convened.”

Picard returned to his seat with a solemn expression on his face. “Have you decided if Lore will stand trial for his past crimes?”

“That was the most difficult part.” Another sip of tea followed before Louvois continued, “Based on the depositions, the evidence with his programming and the fact that Lore has no peers for a jury trial, I’ve decided to sentence him to a five year probation under the supervision of Doctor Chipman, if she agrees to it.”

Picard frowned, “Isn’t that a bit light, given the severity of Lore’s crimes?”

“If I only take his crimes into account, yes. The vast majority of crimes that Lore committed were accessory to murder, second degree murder, incitement to murder and manslaughter.” Louvois returned Picard’s frown with one of her own. “But he spent a combined thirty-seven years in deactivation, so I’m considering that as time served. Lore also spent two years in not just solitary confinement, but sensory deprivation, which could be counted as cruel and unusual punishment. At each point, his due process was ignored. Unless, of course, you want to argue that he’s property.” Louvois leveled her gaze on the Captain.

Picard leaned his head forward to pinch the bridge of his nose, sighed and looked back at Louvois, “No. Although he was declared Data’s property after the incident with the separated Borg, it does not alter the fact that Lore is a living, sentient being, much like his brothers. If Commander Data agrees to it and the repair is successful, Lore will be assigned quarters.”

“Thank you.” Louvois gave Picard a small smile, “It’s not my intention to exonerate him. I figure that five years will be enough time to see if Lore has truly changed, or whether he backslides in behavior.”

Picard’s expression softened as he got up from the chair and returned his empty tea cup to the replicator for recycling. “Very well. I’ll speak with Commander Data after his shift is over. In the meantime, how about dinner?”

Louvois’ lips parted in a broad smile, “Are you buying?”

Picard chuckled softly at their in-joke, walked over to Louvois and offered her his arm, “Of course.” 

Louvois accepted the arm and stood, giving him just a nod of her head, then moved with him through the sliding doors and into the corridor.

 

* * *

 

**Stardate: 58551.6**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

Lore opened his eyes, attempted to move without success, then exhaled in frustration as the dreams faded and he recalled his circumstances. He felt something resting on his chest; A brief glance to his left confirmed that Lynn lay on her right side, with her chin near his left shoulder and her left arm draped across his body. The deep, even intervals of her warm breath on his neck and her steady heartbeat helped to soothe him as he adjusted his own respiration to the same rate. He continued to explore the parts of the holodeck within his range of vision and noted that the illumination was set very low; He estimated it to be around ten lux. T’Mera was no longer at her desk, and the two photonic guards stood at their post near the arch. No other security guard seemed to be present.

A brief check of his internal chronometer confirmed that Lore had slept for nearly three standard days. About one hour remained until the start of alpha shift, and Lore presumed that T’Mera or Data would be arriving to check on him. He turned his attention back to the woman cuddled next to him; Lynn showed signs of waking. Unsure of what else to do, Lore began to sing. “Amazing grace! How sweet the sound… that saved a wretch like me! I once was lost, but now am found; was blind, but now I see.”

Lynn’s eyes opened, “Ohey. Good morning, Lore. You finally woke up.” She stretched her arms, eliciting some audible cracks from her joints.

“I must have been remarkably tired.” Lore’s eyes followed Lynn as she propped herself on her elbow. “Where is everyone? Aren’t I too dangerous to be left unguarded?”

Lynn pushed herself up to a sitting position, “Since you can’t move, we figured that me and the two holograms can handle you.”   


“Speaking of which…” Lore looked up into Lynn’s face, “On T’Mera’s desk there’s something that looks like a small screwdriver. I can instruct you on how to use it, so I can move again.”

Lynn shook her head, “You went nuts before, and tried to run out of here. It might be better to wait for everyone to get back.”

“I promise I won’t go crazy and try to run away.” Lore widened his eyes and drew his lips into a pout, “Please? I would really like to be able to move.”

With a loud sigh, Lynn got up and headed to the desk, “I hope I won’t regret this.” She fished around on the desk and picked up a small tool. “This?” 

“That’s the one.” Lore’s lips upturned into a tiny smile. “Bring it here and look for the ventral access panel in the left side of my neck.”

Lynn returned to Lore’s side and sat on the edge of the chaise, “I see it. It’s open. There’s a cross-head to the left and four buttons to the right and a few other slots or holes.”

“Good.” Lore replied, “Place the tool in the center of the cross-head and rotate it to the right, until you feel a detent.” At Lynn’s confused expression, he added, “That’s the bit of resistance you’ll feel, like when it clicks into place.”

Lynn grimaced and turned the small screw, “Here’s hoping I don’t break you.”

“That’s it! Stop.” Lore called out as his internal sensors reported his motion systems back online. “Thank you, Lynn. I hate being helpless.”

Lynn rose once more and returned the tool to the desk, “You weren’t helpless. I was here, protecting you.” She watched as Lore swung his legs off the side of the chaise to sit up. “Do you feel more settled now?”

“I’m not going to space myself, if that’s what you’re asking.” Lore’s eyes glistened with the formation of tears and he wiped at them. “I’ve done horrible things, Lynn. The worst part of it is, I thought I was justified in doing them. It all made sense to me, at the time. Crap.” Lore wiped at his cheeks as the flow of tears ran unabated. “Who the hell makes an android that cries? What good is that?”

Lynn moved to join Lore in sitting on the chaise. “The same man who tried to make an android that hiccups.” She wrapped her arms around him, “The same man who made androids that get angry. Don’t fight me, Lore. Let me console you.”

For a moment, Lore hesitated. With a visible effort, he brought his arms up to return the embrace, then buried his face in Lynn’s shoulder and sobbed. “Damn him. Damn myself…”

Lynn rubbed his back, carefully avoiding the area around his lumbar region. “It’ll be all right, Lore. You’re strong and you’ll make it through this. I know you can do it.”

“We can’t stay together, can we?” Lore closed his eyes and savored the physical touch. “You’re still going back to Farius Prime, to be with your husband and children.”

Lynn loosened the embrace and lifted Lore’s chin with her hand, “My children, yes. I never had a husband. I didn’t want to end up like my mother, so I went to a lab and chose from a list of genetic profiles. I don’t even know the man’s name, but his donations gave me two lovely children.”

“I’m happy for you.” Relief washed over Lore as his crying streak ended. “I wouldn’t have been able to give you children, even if you and I had run off together. It was better for you, this way.”

“What?” Lynn searched Lore’s amber eyes, “Me thinking you were dead with everyone else on the colony? I mourned for you.”

Lore lowered his eyelids to avoid her scrutiny, “You loved a monster.”

“I still do.” Lynn pushed Lore’s chin upwards and leaned forward to plant a kiss on his lips. 

The initial shock diminished and Lore pulled Lynn closer, letting his lips play against hers for a few minutes before he replied. “There were so many better choices I could have made, if I hadn’t acted on my initial emotional impulses. If I could have thought everything through. If I could have stepped back from the anger.”

“I know, Lore.” Lynn let out a sigh, “You weren’t alone in that. I should have tried to help you more than I did. Looking back, you and I were just children.”

Lore closed his eyes as his mind extrapolated numerous outcomes. “If I were with you on Farius Prime, it would be the same as it was on Omicron Theta. I’d be surrounded by bad influences. Can we at least communicate with each other?”

“I’d like that very much.” Lynn brushed her lips against Lore’s. “I’ll make sure to set it up, once we find out where you’ll be going.” She traced her fingers along Lore’s jawline. “I’m glad you’re not putting up a fuss about not coming with me.”

“It’s hard to explain.” Lore opened his eyes and stared into Lynn’s optical implants. “Part of it is that I feel like I don’t deserve to be happy right now. Not after everything I’ve done.” He paused as Lynn’s fingers traced across his lips. “The other part is the one that’s difficult to put into words, but reminded me of that song, earlier. I was blind, but now I see. It’s astonishing, Lynn. I never knew how much of my computational ability I was missing.”

The beep of the intercom interrupted the conversation. “Lore?” T’Mera’s voice emanated from the speakers in the holodeck, “I see you’re awake. Data’s on his way. I’ll be there shortly.”

“I’ll be here.” Lore replied to the comm as he wiped at the remaining wetness on his face. He turned his attention back to Lynn, “Are you staying for the rewiring?”

Lynn nodded, “I plan to, although I’ll probably sit in the corner and eat breakfast when they work on you. I won’t leave until I know you’re stable.” She reached up to pull Lore’s face to hers and pressed her lips against his. 

As the kiss between Lynn and Lore deepened, Data entered through the holodeck arch. “My apologies for interrupting your amorous exchange.”

Lore released Lynn and regarded Data with a hooded stare, “Your timing is still rotten, Data.”

Data quipped in reply, “My timing is still digital.” He tapped his fingers on the input console of the arch. A moment later, the android alcove appeared in the center of the room. “Commander La Forge and Doctor Crusher will be assisting me with your repairs, Lore.”

Lore grimaced as he moved towards the upright cage-like alcove. He reached out to one of the grey vertical supports and patted it. “Why are they helping me? I set Doctor Crusher on fire. I threatened to kill her child. I forced you to do unspeakable things to La Forge…” His voice cracked as tears spilled down his cheeks, once more. “You must be getting some sort of vindication from watching me go through all this. Seeing me cry… seeing me in a vulnerable state.”

“No, Lore.” Data crossed the room to stand in front of the control panel of the alcove. “I am experiencing no schadenfreude in relation to your current state. You once told me that I would understand you better, after I had emotions of my own. That we would be more alike. You were not incorrect in that assumption.”

Lore wiped at his eyes and leaned against the waist-high control panels that encircled the alcove, “You mentioned becoming unstable with the emotion chip. Did it cause you to become murderous?”

“No.” Data hung his head forward, “I became a coward. Everything frightened me, and I became immobilized with feelings of fear and anxiety, followed by shame and guilt. My inability to act nearly got Geordi killed. After I managed to regain control of myself, I noticed something disconcerting about my having emotions. Every time I spoke, it was your voice I heard. Every time I laughed, it reminded me of your laugh. If I caught my reflection as I smiled, I perceived it as your face, not my own. I know the pain of remorse from my own behavior while I utilized the chip. I cannot comprehend the scope of what you must now be feeling, but I can say that I do understand you more than I once did.”

Lore’s head dipped down and to left as he studied his brother. “And now I understand  _ you _ more than _ I  _ once did.” He closed his eyes, “I thought you were a pawn of Starfleet, mindlessly following whatever you were instructed to do. Now I can think as you do. I’m able to predict and extrapolate more than one outcome.” He opened his eyes and noticed his brother’s confused expression. “Data, I couldn’t anticipate multiple outcomes or consequences until now. As I revisit everything I had planned, I realize that none of it would have worked as I’d intended it.”

“I am sorry, Lore. I did not know.” Data hesitated, then moved closer to Lore. “I am also sorry that I never put forth the effort to examine the malfunctions in your systems.”

Lore turned his head to stare into the alcove, “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t have let anyone besides Father touch my programming, until I met T’Mera.” A grimace of misery spread across his face, “I was ready to kill her, in order to hurt you like you had hurt me.”

“I am curious, Lore.” Data tilted his head to the left, “What stopped you from doing so?”

Lore threw his head back with an ironic laugh, then turned to look at his brother. “I like to talk too much, dear brother. She was able to keep me conversing long enough that my anger faded and my interest in her was piqued. But it was the question she asked me that gave me pause.”

Lynn had moved closer to Lore and placed her hand on his shoulder, “What did she ask you?”

“And then what?” Lore reached over his shoulder to place his hand on top of Lynn’s. “She asked me “And then what?” and I had no answer. I’ve never had the ability to think past a certain point, but it hadn’t occurred to me until she kept pressing the matter.” He stared intently at Data, despite hearing the holodeck doors opening. “Then I found out that she argued with you on my behalf, brother. It was enough to allow me to trust her.”

“My Vulcan ears are burning.” T’Mera headed through the arch and over to her workstation, “Good morning, Lore… Lynn. Data, just give me a moment to check Lore’s neural net activity, do a backup of his current pathways, and then I’ll remove his monitors.”

Data dipped his head in acknowledgement, “Very well. I am curious as to the results of Lore’s extended slumber.” He dipped his head in greeting to Doctor Crusher and Geordi, as they entered close behind T’Mera.

“I think everyone’s here, now.” T’Mera smiled, then went quiet as she checked the displays at her workstation. 

“Good morning.” Doctor Crusher smiled as she headed towards T’Mera’s desk.

Lore lowered his head as Geordi approached him. “Good morning, La Forge.”

Geordi watched Lore for a moment, then replied, “Good morning, Lore.” He looked down at the console, “Data, I’m going to set up the interlink sequencers.”

“Thank you, Geordi.” Data paused to observe Lore, then continued his own work in setting up the repair station.

Lore lifted his head to look at Lynn, “Get something to eat. I can hear your stomach growling.”

Lynn gave Lore’s shoulder one last pat, “All right. I won’t be far away.” She walked to the replicator to order breakfast, then sat on the chaise to eat.

“Excellent!” T’Mera exclaimed, nearly causing Lynn to fall off the chaise. “Lore’s managed to form several connections between the subcortical relays and the ventromedial prefrontal relays, and the morality program is running nicely.” She noticed Lynn managing to keep the plate steady in her hands. “Oh, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you, Ms. Darnell.”

Lynn smiled as she settled onto the lounge, “It’s all right. No harm done.”

Doctor Crusher leaned over next to T’Mera, observing the dual displays of Lore’s neural net. “I have to admit, I was skeptical, but this is looking much better now.”

“He seems stable enough.” T’Mera rose from the chair and walked over to Lore, “Let me remove his monitors and that’ll be the end of my part.” T’Mera carefully removed the small monitors from each cranial port. “All right, Bright Eyes. It’s your turn.”

Data gave T’Mera a brief smile, “Thank you, t’hy’la.” then gave a quick nod to Geordi. 

Geordi opened the double doors on the side of the alcove, “If you’ll step inside, Lore.”

Lore avoided La Forge’s eyes as he moved through the opening and into the center of the cybernetics station. “All right. Let’s get this over with.”

“Lore, please initiate a graceful shutdown.” Data closed the doors to the alcove and took up a position behind his brother. 

Lore closed his eyes and responded to Data. “Beginning the procedure for powering down now. Twenty seconds until shutdown. Nineteen… eighteen…” Lore continued the countdown as long as he could, as each pathway saved and terminated. His eyelids drooped, his head lolled forward slightly, and everything went black and silent as Lore deactivated.


	42. Connecting Links

**Stardate: 58552.1**

Enterprise Holodeck Four

 

“All activation units are functioning within established parameters. Reload circuits are initializing.”

As Lore’s auditory sensors came online, he heard the soft-spoken tenor of Data’s voice, followed by Doctor Crusher’s response.

“Positronic net is online... sub-processor relays in place… Neuro-electrical systems enabled.”

Unlike his previous reactivation on the Enterprise, Lore’s eyes had remained open. As Geordi La Forge moved in front of him, Lore’s first instinct was to feign sleep, but he reminded himself that he had no reason to pretend to be unaware of his surroundings.  He initiated his blinking program and made eye contact with La Forge.

“Lore’s awake,” Geordi announced, then stepped out of the way to let Data stand in his place.

At the first sight of Data, Lore reflexively bolted in fear. The android alcove shook as Lore impacted the bars and control panels encircling him.

“Lore, please calm down.” Data stepped back half a meter. “You are with friends.”

“Friends? I don’t have…” Lore cut his statement off as he gripped the topmost rail of the cage. His searching eyes caught Lynn sitting next to T’Mera near the holographer’s workstation. Sometime during the procedure, Counselor Veluna, Captain Picard, Captain Louvois and Juliana Tainer must have come to the holodeck, because they stood nearby. His internal chronometer finished booting up and Lore frowned at the length of time it reported. “I was out for five hours?”

T’Mera swiveled her chair to face the alcove. “It hardly seems it, hmm? You know what they say… Time flies like a banana.”

Lore opened his mouth to speak, then noticed the confused expressions of everyone else. He pressed his lips together in a smirk. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that, but thanks for the distraction.”

“How are you feeling, Lore?” Counselor Veluna moved to the outer edge of the platform.

The forced joviality drained from Lore’s face, leaving only the visible anguish. “I’m struggling. This isn’t what I expected.” The familiar rush of anger followed as he focused on Data. “Why did you put me back together when you found me? What made you want to do it? You had no memories of me. You knew _you_ were left whole and outside to be found. Didn’t it occur to you that I was in pieces for a _reason_?”

“As I told you, Lore,” Data replied while opening the side gate, “I had been alone for my entire memory record, with no knowledge of my creation. When we found you, I had hoped for another sentient android with whom I could share my experiences. I did not anticipate that you might be maleficent. It could just as easily have been possible that our creator had died prior to completing your assembly.”

Lore let out a slow exhale, then frowned. “Fair enough.”

Doctor Crusher looked at her tricorder with slight alarm. “I’m reading increased submicron matrix activity in Lore. What’s happening to him?”

“Let me see.” T’Mera left her seat at the workstation and joined Doctor Crusher by the alcove. She checked the tricorder readout, then nodded. “That’s the self-correcting mechanism at work. With the positronic links in the proper sequence, Lore’s previous pathways tried to execute, but his new ethical subroutine is halting them and calling for their deletion. He’s fighting with his old habits, in other words.”

Captain Louvois gave a worried glance to Picard, then stepped forward. “I know things are difficult for you, right now. Are you able to talk to me, and maybe answer some questions?”

Lore stared back at the red-haired woman. “Yes. Go ahead.”

Captain Louvois looked into the android’s yellow eyes. “Do you feel any difference in yourself now, with the changes Doctor Chipman made?”

“Yes, I do.” Lore exited the alcove through the open gate, then leaned against the waist high panels on the exterior of the supports. “When T’Mera offered to repair me, I imagined the repairs would be more… compulsive. I thought it would consist of imperatives telling me to behave and be a good Federation citizen, like Data. But it’s not like that, at all. Data’s ethical and moral subroutines aren’t demands. They’re enabling me to see the choices I couldn’t see, back then. It always seemed that I only ever had two paths in my life; To take the actions I did, or to suffer from mistreatment.”

Louvois spoke with gentle concern. “Do you still feel that you want to eradicate biological lifeforms?”

“No.” Lore winced as he answered. “I don’t.”

Captain Picard shared a fleeting moment of eye contact with Counselor Veluna, long enough to see the Deltan woman give him a single nod of her head.

Louvois continued the line of questioning. “Do you feel any regret for your behavior in the past?”

“Regret?” Lore began to shiver as several servos fired involuntarily. “Regret doesn’t even come close to describing what I feel. I’m responsible for the deaths of over seven hundred living beings. Maybe I should have opted for the clean slate. I don’t know how to deal with everything I’ve done. How do I even begin to make up for any of it?”

Counselor Veluna placed her hand on Lore’s shoulder. “It will take time, but you’ll eventually be able to face your past actions and then move forward.”

“What about all the people I killed?” Lore grimaced in agony. “ _They_ can’t move forward. I took away everything they had and everything they might have been. What about their families or friends? They’ll grieve their whole lives for people I helped kill.” He closed his eyes tightly and pressed his forehead against one of the vertical support poles. “Will anyone be coming after me to get revenge?”

Captain Picard walked towards the alcove. “While there are those who do know about you, like Starfleet Intelligence, Doctor Marr or the Daystrom Institute, your exploits are not widely known among the general public. Even B-4’s existence has not been heavily publicized.”

“Which brings up my next question.” Louvois addressed Lore, waiting until the android’s eyes opened. “Do you wish to press charges against anyone for the violation of your rights?”

Lore’s bright gold eyes focused on the red-haired lawyer. “I have rights?” A brief glance at Data’s reaction brought a sad chuckle from Lore. “Of course. Data’s been pressing for those, I imagine. I had never thought about it. All I ever really wanted was to be admired… valued… worthy. I wanted to belong somewhere.” He went silent for a moment. “No. I don’t want to press charges for anything. It wouldn’t change anything, and maybe I deserve what happened to me.”

“No, you didn’t.” Juliana spoke up as she approached Lore and held out her hand to him. “You learned from all of us on the colony; Not just in how we treated you, but how we treated each other.” She paused and let out a long sigh. “And, truthfully, we weren’t very good to each other on Omicron Theta.”

Lore hesitated, then took Juliana’s hand and grasped it gently.

“I’m so sorry, Lore.” Juliana gave Lore’s hand a squeeze. “I remember it all now, with a clarity I haven’t had in a long time. If I’d known more about programming maybe I could have prevented what happened.”

Lore spoke in a near whisper. “It wasn’t your responsibility. You tried to help me, when you could.” He screwed his eyes shut. “For all my vaunted computational speeds, I reacted on emotional impulse. I killed an entire planet. Not just the humanoid lifeforms, but all of it. The animals, the plants, the quince trees, Cooke’s special seeds, the vineyards… I don’t know how to begin to atone for what I’ve done.”

“I couldn’t help you then, but maybe I can help you now.” Juliana reached up with her free hand to stroke Lore’s temple. “Perhaps you could make it up to everyone you’ve hurt or killed by becoming the best person you can be, from this moment on. Do you see?”

Lore’s eyes widened. “I think I do. In my future actions, I can try to honor the memory of those whose lives I ended. I don’t know if I’m capable of being a good person, but the least I can do is walk the path that leads in that direction.”

Captain Louvois smiled very slightly at the exchange. “That would have been my next question. Do you wish to be rehabilitated, Lore?”

Lore released Juliana’s hand and turned to Louvois. “Yes. I want to. Where will I be sent?”

“If you have no objections, you’ll be remaining aboard the Enterprise.” Louvois watched Lore’s face for his reaction. “You’ll be on probation for five years, during which time you’ll work with Counselor Veluna. Doctor Chipman has agreed to take custody of you. Do you find these terms acceptable, Lore?”

Lore took a moment to look at the people gathered around him: T’Mera’s calm gaze, Lynn’s loving smile, the encouragement in Veluna’s dark eyes, Juliana’s wistful expression, and the cautious hope in the others’ faces. He turned his focus to Data. “Do you really want me here, brother?”

“Yes, Lore.” Data tilted his head to the right as he studied Lore’s face. “Your proximity will allow me to assist you in your struggle to improve, as well as facilitate my own restitution to you in regards to my infringements upon your rights as a sentient being.”

Lore shrugged as he met his brother’s identical eyes. “Like you said, you had no other choice.”

“That’s not quite true, Lore.” T’Mera moved to Data’s side and pointed to his chest. “Data could have detached your cranial unit from your body and worn it on a chain around his neck, enabling you to stay activated without allowing you to cause harm.”

Data blinked at T’Mera in shock. “T’hy’la!”

Lore’s blink mirrored Data’s. “That would be horrible…” After a pause, his lips lifted in a half-smirk, “Although, the mental image of it is amusing.”

“I didn’t say it was a _good_ choice.” T’Mera patted Data’s chest and threw Lore a smile. “I’m just pointing out that there might have been alternatives that were less obvious.”

Captain Louvois turned to Counselor Veluna. “Do you agree with Doctor Chipman’s assessment that Lore is capable of being rehabilitated?”

“Yes.” Veluna nodded to Louvois, then smiled softly at Lore. “In the short amount of time that I’ve worked with Lore, he’s shown that he’s willing to put forth the effort to alter his behavior.”

Louvois replied. “Thank you, Counselor. Is there anything further that any parties present wish to add before the decision is finalized?” She glanced around at everyone gathered by the alcove, and after being met with silence, announced, “Very well. This hearing is adjourned.”

Picard turned to Data. “Number One, I will leave it to you to assign proper quarters to Lore.”

Data dipped his head once to Picard. “Yes, Sir.”

Lore began to move towards the punching bag, but stopped when he noticed Geordi’s expression. “What?”

Geordi furrowed his eyebrows. “No offense, but it’s going to be a while before I’m comfortable being around you.”

Lore lifted his head and a sardonic smirk covered his misery. “Does that mean you won’t show me how to pilot this vessel?”

“Lore, be nice.” Lynn chided, then reached for his arm and guided him towards the punching bag.

The smirk on Lore’s face vanished, replaced by a guilt-stricken wince. “It’s all right, La Forge. You certainly have reason to be bitter about me being here on your ship.” He allowed Lynn to lead him away, then threw a few half-hearted punches into the bag as the others filed out of the holodeck. Within minutes, only Lynn, T’Mera and Data remained as company for Lore.

Data crossed the holodeck to join his brother and Lynn. “Lore, do you have any preferences when it comes to quarters. Would you like interior or exterior? Perhaps you would wish one with a view of the stars?”

“Interior is fine. Just give me whatever you would have chosen for yourself.” Lore rolled his eyes. “I’ve had enough stargazing to last my whole lifetime. Why did Picard call you Number One?”

Data looked between Lore and Lynn before answering. “Commander Worf has been recalled to Qo'noS, and I have been promoted to First Officer.”

“Promoted to first officer?” Lore let out a dramatic gasp. “So soon? Why... it’s only been seventeen years. Congratulations, brother. You’ve managed to progress through the ranks _slower_ than humans do.”

“Your sarcasm is noted, Lore.” The left side of Data’s mouth rose amusedly. “In addition to my own lack of ambition, I have suffered from the human prejudice against machines. For some reason, Starfleet seems to be wary of sentient androids in command positions, due to the historical predominance of homicidal artificial intelligence.”

Lore stuck his tongue against his cheek. “Touché, brother.”

“That’s due to sloppy programming,” T’Mera commented wryly. “Too often, the designer will program the artificial intelligence to perform a task and then neglect to be specific in the manner of achieving the result. The AI will then go for the most efficient way possible, including all the instrumental goals, even if that means murder.” She smiled very slightly. “Remind me to tell you two the ancient fable of the Paperclip Maximizer, someday.”

“I’ll be sure to.” Lore turned his attention to Lynn. “I suppose you’ll be leaving, soon.”

Lynn wrapped her arm around Lore’s back. “Soon, but not yet. I still have a few more days before the transport ship comes to take me back to Farius Prime. I can help you get settled into your new room.”

A slight smile formed on Lore’s lips, and he looked over at Data. “The type of room is up to you, brother.”

Data dipped his head to his brother. “I will take my leave, then, and make arrangements for your quarters.”

As Data turned and walked to the exit, T’Mera gave Lynn and Lore a meaningful glance. “I think I’ll return to my own quarters and give you two some privacy.”

“Thank you.” Lynn smiled at the holographer, then waited until she and Lore were alone in the holodeck. “I’m proud of you, Lore.”

Lore stared back at Lynn with an incredulous frown. “How can you be proud of me? I was supposed to be Father’s greatest achievement. I was a breakthrough. Destined for greatness.” He grimaced and threw a punch at the bag. “Data’s more like what I should have been. Often Wrong should have named me B-Tray.”

“I’m proud that you’re taking the opportunity to change.” Lynn stepped back to let Lore take out his frustrations on the bag. “Don’t forget that I know you better than anyone. You never meant to betray anyone. You simply lashed out in anger at people who treated you badly.”

Lore punched into the bag with both hands, but left them pressed against the holographic canvas. “I could have said ‘screw them all’ and run off into a cave somewhere to live my life alone. I could have tried to convince you to come with me. I could have tried to help the Crystalline Entity get back to where it belonged. By not helping it leave the sector, I set in motion all the events that led to it being killed.” He turned to meet her gaze, “Maybe if I hadn’t killed Omicron Theta, Father might have fixed me after completing Data.”

“Making mistakes is part of being human.” Lynn placed her hand on Lore’s upper back. “Or, in your case, a human-like android. The important thing is to learn from your mistakes and not repeat them.”

Lore mimicked the gesture, first wrapping his arm around Lynn, then reflexively pulling her closer to him. “I’ll try.” He went silent, then let out a slow sigh. “I feel more steady than I have in a very long time. I also feel silly, with the two of us holding each other and staring at a piece of equipment used for boxing. Should I ask the computer for better scenery?”

“Nah.” Lynn rubbed Lore’s shoulders. “I’m sure they’ll have your quarters ready soon, and then we’ll have that for scenery. I wonder if they’ll give you a bed?”

A smile spread across Lore’s face. “Still attempting to draw me into your sticky, biological mating rituals?”

“Maybe.” Lynn snorted, then grimaced. “I want to, but I’m an old woman now. It might not be the same as it was. You might not feel the same about me as you used to, if you ever did.”

Lore turned sideways to hold Lynn with both arms while looking her in the eyes. “I still feel the same about you now as I did then. Do you think it would be a mistake to be together like that, when you’d have to leave? Wouldn’t it make the pain of separation worse?”

“I don’t know, Lore.” Lynn let her head fall against Lore’s chest. “We might regret it more if we don’t spend what little time we have together in the way we want.”

Lore paused for a moment, then replied, “I have a history of making bad decisions.” He reached with a hand to lift her chin and look at her face, once more. “There’s a part of me that wants more than the memories of Omicron Theta; A part that would do anything to make you happy, once more.”

“It’s a difficult decision to make.” Lynn studied Lore’s expression for a moment, then smiled as she pulled him into an embrace. “I know you’re still dealing with guilt, and you will be for a while, but I’m of the opinion that the universe owes us a few nights to be together in each other’s arms. It’s a debt I intend to collect.”

Lore lifted Lynn with ease and carried her to the chaise. “We may as well get a head start.” With tender care, he set her down on the makeshift bed and all conversation ceased.


	43. Epilogue

**Stardate: 58663.5**

 

Several crew members passed Lore as he walked from Stellar Cartography to the turbolift. During his first week of probation aboard the Enterprise, Lore had to fight against being defensive when humans approached him. After another two weeks without incident, both Lore and the Enterprise crew exchanged polite nods of acknowledgement. While he kept mostly to himself, Lore felt gratified that none of the crew treated him with revulsion; Even Doctor Crusher had been more relaxed around him.  

The turbolift doors opened with Data already inside. “Ah. There you are, Lore.”

Lore entered the lift without hesitation and pointed to the combadge on his teal jumpsuit. “You can’t have lost me, brother. Even without it, you’d still have this band around my ankle tracking my whereabouts.” He studied Data for a moment, then smirked, “The red uniform makes your bioplast look slightly pink.”

“I realize that, Lore,” Data answered, “However, as I am now First Officer, I am in the command division, which is signified with a red shirt.” 

Lore gave a brief nod to Data, then noticed the turbolift hadn’t moved. “Deck ten.” With his command, the lift began to move. “I was summoned to the crew lounge. I have no idea why.”

“I, too, have been summoned there.” Data replied cryptically, then stepped out as the doors opened. 

Lore followed his brother through the corridor until they reached the door of the crew lounge. As Data pressed the panel, the doors opened to a completely unlit and silent room. Through the darkness, Lore could easily see T’Mera, Veluna and Murphy standing around a small table. Before he could ask why everyone was standing around in the dark, the lights turned back on to full.

“Surprise!”

Lore glanced at Data, “What is this?”

“It is a surprise party, Lore.” Data moved through the doorway. “You do realize what Earth date this is, do you not?”

Lore eyed his brother with light suspicion, “The Earth date is the first of September.” He followed Data into the room, then watched as Counselor Veluna pulled the cover off of what appeared to be a round cake. He moved closer to inspect the object; The cake’s icing consisted of chocolate and vanilla buttercream, swirled to create a yin yang pattern. “That’s a cake.”

“We weren’t sure what kind of cake androids like.” T’Mera began to stick three small candles into the top of the cake, following the line separating yin from yang. “Then, it hit me. Angel Food and Devil’s Food cakes with icing that symbolizes the two of you and your duality.”

Data moved to stand next to Lore. “A fitting confection, t’hy’la.”

Murphy extended their hand, with the index finger pointing out. A small flame formed at the end of their finger, lighting one of the candles. 

“Thank you, Renay.” Veluna smiled, then used the lit candle to light the others. 

Murphy dipped their head to the counselor. “My pleasure.”

Once the candles were lit, the three of them began to sing:

 

“Happy activation day to you,

Happy activation day to you,

Happy activation day, Lore and Data…

Happy activation day to you.”

 

Data smiled pleasantly. “Thank you, everyone.” He leaned forward and inhaled deeply.

Lore managed to sync his movements to Data’s as they both blew out the candles on the cake. 

“Aw, you two didn’t make your wishes.” Murphy tilted their head, “I thought that was the traditional humanoid thing to do?”

Data held up the index finger of his right hand. “Both myself and Lore are capable of several thousand thoughts within a fraction of a second. You may rest assured that we have both made wishes.”

“Biological lifeforms are so sentimental,” Lore scoffed, then his smirk softened into a genuine smile, “But thank you all.”

Murphy sliced pieces of the small cake to set on plates. “I must have picked it up from being around humans.”

Veluna smiled as she handed a piece of cake to each android brother. “Deltans can be sentimental, so I don’t take offense.”

“My fault.” T’Mera reached up with her right hand to fiddle with the lemniscate charm on her choker. “I knew that neither of you had celebrated a birthday, so I figured why not.”

Lore gave T’Mera a wistful smile, then moved to stand by one of the windows. He lifted the fork to his mouth, tasting the cake, while watching the star trails go by. His reflection in the transparent aluminum was joined by Data’s. “I was just thinking that B-4 would find this funny. Androids eating cake with a fork.”

Data’s lips quirked upwards with amusement. “Indeed. I find it amusing that, out of those of us gathered here for the party, only the Counselor requires the ingestion of nutrients of an organic nature.” After a beat, he lowered his voice. “I thought you had expressed disinterest in viewing stars?”

“Yes, I did say that,” Lore replied in an equally soft voice. “But, somehow the stars are different, now that I finally belong somewhere.”


End file.
